Dreaming a Reality
by Mistress Megatron
Summary: Two sisters lives are turned upside down when their transformers toys come to life, resulting in chaos, drama, and...romance?
1. When You Wish Upon A Star

When I first started writing this a year ago...though it feels like a lifetime ago...I originally had no intention of posting it since it was just a dumb fic (in my opinion) and has a lot of impossiblities/nonsense in it. Offline, I call this my "toy series" and this is actually the fourth one I've written...but haven't ever published/posted. I think this one is the best compared to the other three I've written...and after letting Mrs. OP read the third one I wrote, she helped convince me to post this. So, I'm nervous/scared about posting this...please be gentle...and hopefully enjoy.

Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Hasbro and not me. Aurora and Angelique however do belong to me.

* * *

**Chapter 1: When You Wish Upon a Star**

Homework over the summer, neither Aurora nor Angelique could believe it. They had planned this summer to be the best one ever, though they weren't sure how yet, but the homework had ruined everything.

"This is so unfair," Aurora protested, "I have to read three books, plus AP Bio crap. It's going to take all summer just to do this."

"Knowing you, you're going to wait until the last moment to do it," Angelique remarked sitting down on the couch in the living room.

"Heh, you know me too well. Oh well, at least mom and dad left us here for the next month while they're vacationing down in Florida."

"It's totally not fair. I hope a hurricane comes."

"Angelique," Aurora responded sternly.

"What? I didn't mean it. Now, how do you want to spend the summer?"

"Staying up late and sleeping in until noon, eating to my stomach's desire, and daydreaming about transformers."

"And Optimus Prime." Angelique added quickly.

"Yes, but not on either a romantic or sexual level."

"Liar!"

"It's true. I bet that's all you think about when it comes to Megatron."

Angelique's face turned red, "Is not…okay…so maybe it is…a little."

"Who's the liar now?"

"Shut up."

Aurora and Angelique had been huge transformers fans for five years now. They were both sisters, living in the same household, glad to be left alone without their parents. Of course, who wouldn't be? Especially during summer break?

Aurora was seventeen years old. She was of average size being five foot six in height. The girl was thin, in shape, but suffered from a bit of laziness. Her hair fell just below her shoulders, it was a deep brunette color, and naturally straight. Aurora's eyes were brown and she was blessed with perfect vision. She was also a huge fan of the autobots. She owned the Cybertron Optimus Prime, Jetfire, Wing-Saber, Hotshot, Override, and Red Alert toys. Aurora kept the toys safely and neatly on a shelf in her room.

Angelique, however, was sixteen years old. She was considered tall being five foot eight in height. Like her sister, she was slim and in shape as well and also suffered from laziness. Her hair was short as well and fell just below her shoulders. It was dirty blonde and naturally straight as well. Angelique's eyes were hazel and she had perfect vision too. But unlike her sister, Angelique was a huge fan of the decepticons. She owned the Cybertron Megatron, Starscream, Thundercracker, Thunderblast, Ransack, and Crumplezone toys. Megatron was her favorite.

"I'm hungry, what do you say I cook us a pizza?" Angelique asked.

"Sure, just don't burn it this time."

"Shut up."

Aurora smiled to herself and pulled out her AP Biology book that she had to read: _Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meaning of Life_. She read the first couple pages and then tossed the book aside exclaiming, "That is so boring."

"What's boring?" Angelique called from the kitchen as she put the pizza in the oven.

"My AP Bio book."

"I can imagine, I still think you should've got the sex one, that one would've at least been interesting."

"She was out," Aurora answered referring to the AP Biology teacher, "The perverts these days."

"You better not be referring to me," Angelique stated, "or else you'll get no pizza."

"I wasn't," Aurora said biting back a giggle as she crossed her fingers behind her back.

Angelique returned from the kitchen and sat down in a chair since Aurora had taken over the couch. The girl sighed heavily and stared out the window, "Wouldn't it be awesome if the transformers were real?"

Aurora looked up from staring at her AP Biology book, "Lord, it'd be more than awesome."

"You know, what hurts?"

"Hm?"

"Being in love with something that isn't real. Not only is it embarrassing, but I have a feeling that it's a curse and it won't ever go away. Nothing good is going to come out of that," Angelique explained.

"Aw how sweet, a lovesick sap!"

"You sure do know how to ruin a perfectly good moment," Angelique exclaimed pretending to be hurt.

"Don't I? But seriously, I don't think you should worry about it. Fate has its way of working things out."

"Are you saying Megatron and I are—

"No, I'm saying fate will allow you to get over him and move on; that's the way life works," Aurora explained.

Angelique didn't say anything and Aurora started reading her AP Biology book again. Several minutes later, the oven sounded and Angelique got up and took the pizza out of the oven. The two of them ate the pizza in silence. Once finished, Aurora did the dishes and watched as Angelique retired to her room. She sighed knowing her sister was feeling depressed. If only there was something she could do about it.

After finishing the dishes, Aurora went over to the window in the living room and looked out noticing the sun was setting. A single bright star was twinkling in the lavender sky. Aurora leaned her head against the window. Looking up at the star, she concentrated all her energy on it and then whispered, "I wish that the transformers were real…and somehow the decepticons won't kill us for the sake of Angelique." She then glanced back up to the star only to notice it was glowing brighter. A little freaked out, Aurora left the living room and went to her room to use the computer.

* * *

Angelique sat in her room reading her comic: _Megatron: Origin_. She loved the comic because it was all about Megatron and it had very hot pictures of him inside. The girl felt depressed though, not only because she would never have Megatron, but because he would probably kill her if he ever met her. Knowing that hurt as much as not being able to love him. But even if he didn't kill her, the chances of him falling for her were zero. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed as if it just wasn't meant to be. Angelique set her comic aside and went to the bathroom where she took a shower, changed into her pajamas, dried her hair, and then went to bed.

* * *

Aurora on the other hand, stayed up a bit later reading transformers fan fiction and watching music videos. She then shut off her computer, put on her pajamas, and went to bed. As she laid in the dark room, she noticed the star in the sky she had wished on shining a ray of light upon her transformers toys. Out of curiosity, Aurora got up and quietly peeked into Angelique's room only to find her decepticon toys engulfed in the same star's light.

Aurora could only go back to bed wondering.

* * *

Yeah, not much of a first chapter...I can't promise that the second chapter will be much in length either...but bear with me. Now...nice reviews would be great...please? Just got to mention one more thing, usually my "toy series" are never finished...but tell me what you think of this one so far...I'll post new chapters as quickly as I can...and if you like it, I'll work my butt off to finish it. But please, gentle reviews...gentle...thankies! 


	2. Your Dreams Come True

Okay, thanks to everyone who reviewed, it got my confidence up, and to get you into the story more, here's chapter two.

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**Chapter 2: Your Dreams Come True**

Angelique was sleeping peacefully the next morning; she laid on her side drooling a bit into her pillow. The covers were strewn about; there was a blanket on the floor, a blanket on her waist, and a sheet at her chest. She rolled over onto her other side when suddenly someone shook her roughly. Angelique sat up rubbing her eyes, "What do you want, Aurora?"

It was then she stopped rubbing her eyes and looked only to get the shock of her life, "OH MY GOD!" she exclaimed hiding beneath her covers, "You're not Aurora."

"Of course I'm not you stupid _human_. I am Megatron, leader of the decepticons."

"And I'm dreaming…don't you dare say 'nice to meet you dreaming.'"

"Idiot, this is no dream, now, I'll be asking the questions."

"Hold on, may I go to the bathroom, get dressed, and get something to eat first?"

Megatron made as if he was rolling his optics. Angelique came out from under her covers and her jaw dropped when she noticed the rest of her decepticon ex-toys standing in the room, "You're _all_ alive? I'm going back to sleep."

"Hold it human, you will answer my questions," Megatron exclaimed.

"Okay, one moment," Angelique replied and darted out of the bed. She grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom where she did her business, got dressed, and brushed her hair and teeth. A few minutes later she out and went back to her room.

"Wow, you look better," Thundercracker remarked.

Angelique smiled at him, "Thanks TC."

Crumplezone then added, "You smell better too."

The girl shot him a glare. Ransack jumped in front of Crumplezone protectively, "Quit glarin' at CZ, he's very sensitive you know."

"I apologize," Angelique exclaimed batting her eyelashes at Crumplezone, "forgive me?"

"Yeah," the green bot sighed.

"Now then," the girl said turning to Megatron, "you had questions?"

"Yes," he growled, "where the hell are we?"

"My bedroom, in my house, in New York, in the United States," she explained.

"What about the black hole, Omega Lock, and—

"They don't exist."

"What?"

"They don't exist."

Starscream stepped out from behind Megatron, "Then if they don't exist, why are we here and the size of…humans?"

"I have no idea," Angelique answered, "Anymore questions?"

Thundercracker raised his hand causing the rest of the decepticons to groan in embarrassment. Angelique looked at him saying, "Yes, TC?"

"Never mind, I forgot," he said.

"Right…I'm going to go eat breakfast now, and then…well I don't know yet. But if you'll excuse me," Angelique stated turning to leave the room when a hand grasped the back of her shirt preventing her from going anywhere.

"Starscream, get whatever information you deem worthy out of that computer over there. Ransack, Crumplezone…keep yourselves out of trouble. Thundercracker, Thunderblast, explore the premises. I'll be busy interrogating this human friend of ours some more," Megatron ordered holding onto the back of Angelique's shirt firmly.

The decepticon troops went off to do as they were told. "Can't I go eat breakfast?" Angelique inquired.

"Not yet," Megatron answered.

"That's…nice," she replied twisting out of his grasp and running across the hall to her sister's room, "AURORA!"

* * *

Aurora was half asleep, too tired to get up, but too disturbed to fall back to sleep. She swore she heard voices mumbling around her, but didn't dare to look.

"According to my scans, she is awake Optimus," came a British sounding voice.

Hearing this, Aurora's eyes popped open. She sat up and glanced around before exclaiming, "HOLY CRAP!"

"Wow Red Alert, you were right," Wing-Saber remarked.

Aurora was in disbelief, all her autobot toys were alive and about the size of humans…around six foot something in height. _"My wish came true,"_ she thought.

"Excuse me miss," Optimus piped up, "we certainly didn't mean for the intrusion like this, but perhaps you could answer a few questions we have."

"The name's Aurora, and of course I'll answer your questions, just let me get dressed and stuff first," she said.

"As you wish," the autobot leader answered.

Aurora grabbed some clothes and then went to the bathroom where she did her business, got dressed, and brushed her hair and teeth. She then returned to her room.

"About time you got back," Jetfire teased.

"Sorry, I hope I didn't keep the drama queen waiting too long," Aurora retorted.

Wing-Saber and Hotshot chuckled as the autobot second in command responded, "Excuse me?"

"You're excused," she said.

"Why I ought to—

"Jetfire stand down," Optimus stated, "its best you didn't provoke him."

"Right, sorry."

Jetfire mumbled something under his breath as Optimus asked, "Where are we, Aurora?"

"Smiths Landing, New York, USA," she replied.

Optimus nodded, "And the Omega Lock and Cyber Planet Keys?"

"Nonexistent."

"Wait a minute, if they aren't real, what about Cybertron?" Hotshot questioned.

"I'm assuming it doesn't exist either. Technically, you transformers are only a cartoon, you're not supposed to be real," Aurora said.

"Then how come we are?" Override inquired.

"I sort of made a wish last night hoping you guys would come to life," she explained, "And surprisingly enough, it worked."

"Does this mean the decepticons don't exist as well?" Optimus asked.

"Um, good question. I honestly don't know."

"Don't know? Why don't you know?" Wing-Saber questioned.

"Well, they were involved in my wish," Aurora remarked sheepishly.

"This can't be good," Red Alert mused, "the decepticons could be anywhere in the world right now."

"Look, I wasn't exactly planning for my wish to come true," Aurora stated, "this is the first wish of mine that ever has."

"Don't blame yourself for this Aurora; it is in fact greatly appreciated. I'm sure all of us would rather be living than plastic toys," Optimus said.

Aurora nodded, "Thanks Optimus."

Without warning, Angelique burst into the room and shut the door behind her quickly. She failed to notice the autobots as she told, "You'll never believe what happened."

"You dropped your toothbrush in the toilet again?" Aurora asked causing some of the autobots to chuckle.

It was then Angelique took notice of the autobots and exclaimed, "They're alive too?"

"Wait a minute, just what do you mean by too?" Jetfire questioned.

"Gosh, you're hot in real life," Angelique stated blindly then said quickly, "Um, pretend you didn't hear that."

"I like this human," Jetfire remarked, "Now, what did you mean by too?"

Angelique opened the door and pointed to an angry Megatron, "That."

"Autobots?" Megatron questioned sounding surprised, "Human, why didn't you tell me that the autobots are here?!"

"I didn't _know_ they were here," Angelique replied.

"No matter," Megatron mused, "they're history." And he went to attack them.

"No!" Aurora shouted while Angelique managed to tackle Megatron to the ground, "Okay, that works. Now let me get one thing straight, you will not be starting World War _Three_ in my room, let alone this house."

"So, are you encouraging us to take this outside?" Starscream asked appearing in the doorway of Angelique's room.

"No, I'm saying you two factions better work out your differences right now or else I'll turn you decepticons over to human scientists that _will_ dissect you for parts," Aurora threatened.

Megatron shook his head and looked only to see he was face to face with Angelique, who had landed on top of him after the tackle. She looked down at him, her cheeks reddened a bit, and she had a "please don't hurt me" look on her face. The decepticon leader frowned, "Get off me human."

"You got to form an alliance with the autobots first," Angelique taunted.

"Never," he growled.

"Then I guess we'll just stay like this all day, and I haven't had breakfast yet."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing I guess, but it won't be pretty when I have to go to the bathroom," Angelique remarked.

"Ew, that's disgusting," Aurora piped up, "So, what'll it be Megatron?"

Megatron glared at Angelique, "Alright fine, the war is over, but that doesn't mean I'm going to like this. Now get off me."

Angelique climbed off him and stood. She then offered her hand to Megatron to help him up, but he slapped it away and stood on his own.

"Don't hit my sister you creep," Aurora remarked.

"She deserved it," Megatron retorted.

"Enough," Optimus intervened, "Now that we have an alliance, I suggest we build a base."

"There is no way I am sharing a base with you autobots," said the decepticon leader.

"Quit having a hissy fit, would ya?" Wing-Saber stated, "We could divide the base into two sections, an autobot section and a decepticon section. Then we could have neutral zones."

"I do believe that is the most intelligent think I've ever heard you say," Angelique exclaimed, "But I still love you all the same."

"Jetfire, I like this human too."

"Now Megatron, what do you think about this?" Optimus continued.

"I suppose it's worth a try," he answered, "But I'm still not going to like this."

"No one ever said you had to," Aurora piped up.

Megatron crossed his arms, Starscream slightly behind him and Angelique to his side, "Just where are we going to build this base?"

"The gully," Angelique answered, "It isn't too far from here, about…twenty yards."

"Alright, Aurora, do you mind taking Red Alert and me out to see it?" Optimus asked.

"No problem, but what about the rest of the autobots?" Aurora wondered.

"They'll be alright here," Angelique spoke up, "They can help me keep the decepticons in order."

"Right…I think they should come with us," the autobot leader decided, "I can't trust Jetfire, Hotshot, and Wing-Saber alone with the decepticons. Override yes, but she mine as well come with us."

"Oh boy," Angelique sighed.

"Don't worry, this shouldn't take long," Aurora remarked and left the house with the autobots.

Angelique glanced over at Megatron, "When should I start running?"

"I'll give you a five second head start."

"Right…" she responded and then ran inside her room and locked the door.

Ransack and Crumplezone were too busy playing games on her computer to notice her. Angelique sighed sitting on her bed.

Today was going to be rather interesting.

* * *

Well, I'm so glad so many people reviewed the first chapter, thanks to all of you. Think you could review again? XD 


	3. Base

Okay, I decided to update this one more time before I go back and work on my other stories. I have bad news though: I'm getting sick...I think. So...updates may be delayed...longer. So...I apologize. Once again thanks to all of you who have been reviewing.

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**Chapter 3: Base**

Aurora led the autobots through the backyard and out to the gully. It was the first time in a long time since she had been out there, but there really was no reason why she should visit. The gully was a barren and empty wasteland. It had trees hither and thither, the grass was never cut and grew rather high, and it had numerous small, but steep hills. The best part was that there was no one around to see them build this base.

"Welcome to the gully," Aurora stated, "Please watch your step there are gopher holes."

Red Alert took out a small computer device and began scanning the gully. Aurora watched him for a couple seconds until Optimus paused beside her. "Does anyone besides you ever come over here?" he asked.

"Just Angelique and me, in the wintertime to go sledding, never in the spring, summer, or fall," she answered.

"Then I do think that this will make an ideal location. We'll see what Red Alert's scans say first and we'll go from there."

Aurora was quiet a few moments and then said, "Do you think that Angelique will be okay? We did leave her alone with the decepticons."

"Does she know how to scream and runaway?"

"She's a pro at that."

"Then she'll be fine," Optimus remarked, "Let's go see what Red Alert has to say."

Aurora agreed and the two of them went over to Red Alert just as he finished reading the results from his scans. He looked over to Aurora and Optimus explaining, "If we're going to build a base here, its best we build it underground. The dirt is soft, yet sturdy, and there is a lot of limestone, but that shouldn't be a problem."

The autobot leader nodded, "Then it's settled. We'll go get the decepticons, draw up a design for the base, and then start building it. Now, who's going to go fetch the decepticons?"

The autobot troops pretended to make themselves look busy. Red Alert was putting his scanning equipment away, Hotshot and Override had a conversation going on about racing, and Jetfire and Wing-Saber were arguing about the shape of a cloud in the sky. Optimus felt an optic twitch and sighed. Aurora chuckled a bit, "I'll go get them for you."

"You will? Thanks Aurora, I owe you," Optimus exclaimed.

Aurora nodded and started back to the house.

* * *

Angelique flinched when she heard someone pound on the door. Ransack and Crumplezone looked up from their game to glance at the door. They then glanced at Angelique and then went back to their game. The girl noticed Crumplezone had an arm around Ransack. Her eyes widened a bit as she thought, _"Either they're really good friends, or they're __**really**__ good friends."_

The pounding sounded on the door again, but this time it was accompanied by Megatron's voice demanding in a rather bittersweet tone, "Let me human, and I'll let you live to be my pet."

"You got that line from the movie!" Angelique called back.

"Don't get me anymore angrier than I am now."

"Or what? You'll huff and you'll puff and you'll blow the door down?" she retorted.

"That's the last straw!"

"Nice pun."

The door made a horrible ripping noise as Megatron yanked it open, no help whatsoever by Starscream. Angelique felt her jaw drop when she realized just how strong Megatron truly was. Ransack and Crumplezone turned away from the game they were playing to see what happened.

"What are the chances that you won't hurt me?" Angelique asked.

"There are no chances," Megatron answered stepping into the room.

Angelique jumped off the bed attempting to keep that between her and the very angry decepticon leader. Starscream leaned against the door frame watching with a gleeful smirk on his face. Megatron easily saw how he could catch the human, but he figured he'd give her a chance and said, "Come to me now and receive your beating, don't make me come after you."

"What did I do to deserve a beating?" Angelique inquired taking a step towards Starscream and the door.

"You made me mad," the decepticon leader replied.

"Look, when I tackled you I was only stopping you from getting into one huge mess. As for the alliance, well, it doesn't have to be permanent."

"I still don't like you, and for that, you shall pay," Megatron exclaimed. He was just about to lunge at Angelique when Aurora suddenly shoved past Starscream into the room.

"What's going on here?" Aurora demanded.

Angelique glanced to Megatron and then turned to Aurora and said, "I made him mad, not purposely though."

"Oh, well, at least you didn't burn the house down."

"Megatron's about to slag me and all you care about is the house burning down?!" Angelique remarked.

"Well, quite honestly, I think you could use a minor slagging once in awhile," Aurora confessed, "especially when you lie to me, steal my stuff, don't do as I say, and hit me for no reason."

"So? Now, why are you here anyway?"

"I'm here because Optimus wishes to speak with Megatron and the rest of the decepticons. Speaking of the rest of the decepticons, where are Thundercracker and Thunderblast?"

"Megatron ordered them to go make love in your room," Angelique answered causing Ransack and Crumplezone to snicker, Starscream's optics to widen, and Megatron to scowl.

Aurora crossed her arms annoyed, "Seriously."

"I don't know where they are. For all I care, that witch named Thunderblast can stay gone."

"ENOUGH!" Megatron finally bellowed, "Now, we will go meet with the autobots as you say, um, whoever you are."

"My name's Aurora."

"Whatever, decepticons, follow _Aurora_ out, take Thundercracker and Thunderblast with you," Megatron ordered.

"My sister is coming with us," Aurora remarked.

"I never said she wasn't," Megatron returned.

Aurora glared at him and then left the room with Megatron's troops. She found Thundercracker and Thunderblast watching TV in the living room, and they followed Aurora outside as well. Angelique glanced at the door and then back to Megatron, "Well, its nice meeting you, I'll be leaving."

"Hold it human," he declared and Angelique froze, "Walk with me."

"That…I can do."

Angelique led Megatron out of the house and they started walking towards the gully. Megatron then asked, "Is it true, that you do those things that your sister says?"

"I guess."

"Tell me, who do you like better, autobots or decepticons?"

"Decepticons all the way, I hate the autobots, especially Hotshot, Optimus, and Override. Red Alert, Jetfire, and Wing-Saber are alright, but I much rather prefer the decepticons."

Megatron smirked, "Which decepticons don't you like?"

"Thunderblast and Crumplezone. Ransack looks like a little teddy bear, Thundercracker is just plain awesome, Starscream is annoying, but yet very attractive, and you're just plain sexy—I mean evil," Angelique explained and then wanted to slap herself.

Megatron glanced at Angelique, and to her relief he didn't say anything. They then arrived to the gully where Optimus and the rest of the autobots along with the decepticons were waiting.

"What is it now?" Megatron asked sounding annoyed.

"We need to decide on a design for the base," Optimus answered.

"Right…the decepticons get the bigger half."

"The autobot and decepticon sections will be equal in size."

"Fine, we get the _better_ half," Megatron argued.

"Each half will be just as good as the other," Optimus shot back.

"Oh wow," Aurora exclaimed watching the two leaders argue, "This is going to be one heck of an alliance."

"You said it," Angelique remarked, "Shall we go break them up?"

"I suppose…even though that sounds wrong."

"Pervert."

Aurora and Angelique then stepped between the two leaders distracting them from their argument. "How about this," Aurora piped up, "The autobots design their half and the decepticons design their own, then we'll link them together into one."

"That's reasonable enough," Optimus exclaimed and then looked up to Megatron who also agreed.

The two factions then came up with their designs. Aurora helped the autobots out while Angelique worked with the decepticons. A few minutes later each faction had there designs done and agreed to put them together into one. The neutral zones would be in-between the two designs, linking them together. Aurora and Angelique were allowed to design the neutral zone, which they did. They had it built complete with a game room, bedrooms, bathrooms, and by request, a hot tub.

Once the designs were complete, the base construction began, and to the surprise of both the autobots and humans, the decepticons helped. Since Aurora and Angelique weren't really of any use, they went back to their house to finally eat breakfast.

* * *

It was about eight o'clock that evening, Angelique was in the bathroom drying her hair since she had just taken a shower, and Aurora sat out in the living room reading her AP Biology book feeling like she hadn't made any progress. Angelique had yet to start her AP English book, but she planned on starting it the next day.

Flipping to the next page in her book, Aurora listened as Angelique turned off the hair dryer and started brushing her hair. She then heard someone knock on the door. Setting her book aside, Aurora got up and answered the door. "Oh hey Jetfire and Wing-Saber, what's up?" she asked.

"The base is done and we're wondering if you and your sister would like to take a tour of it," Jetfire explained.

"Of course we would!" Angelique exclaimed coming up from behind Aurora.

Aurora glanced over at her sister and said, "You're only in your pajamas."

"Would you feel better if I grabbed some slippers too?"

"Never mind, we're coming," Aurora responded and both girls slipped into their sneakers.

"Is it cold out?" Angelique remarked.

"Not really," Wing-Saber answered, "If you get cold, you can always lean on me."

"Aw, how sweet."

"You fall for the sappiest of lines," Aurora stated.

Angelique stuck her tongue out at her and the two of them then followed Jetfire and Wing-Saber to the gully. As they were walking, Angelique couldn't help but exclaim, "I feel so free being in my pj's."

"Well, at least you're not naked," Aurora retorted.

"Like I said before, you sure do know how to ruin a perfectly good moment," Angelique replied.

"Do you two always argue like this?" Jetfire inquired.

"Pretty much, yeah, but we're sisters, what do you expect?" Angelique questioned.

Jetfire shook his head and didn't say anything. They then arrived in the gully and the two autobots showed the girls into the base. Once inside, the two girls gawked at what they saw. The base looked similar to the autobot base in the Cybertron series, but smaller since the transformers were human-sized.

"Holy," Angelique exclaimed.

"More like holy crap," Aurora added.

The two autobots chuckled and proceeded to show the two girls around the base, the autobot and neutral sections anyway. Jetfire and Wing-Saber were leery about taking the two girls into the decepticon section without Megatron's permission. The last stop on the tour was the game room, complete with a bowling alley, bar, games, couches, and a dance floor. Aurora and Angelique weren't sure what role the dance floor was going to play since neither of them could dance.

The four of them all crashed on one couch, squeezing together to create as much room as possible. "This is so awesome," Aurora remarked, "This is so going to be the best summer ever."

"What about the decepticons?" Angelique asked.

"I wouldn't recommend going over there without ol' Megsie's permission. He gets mad at the drop of a hat," Wing-Saber explained.

"More like pissed," Jetfire added.

"We should get him drunk and see what happens," Aurora piped in.

"Oh Primus, that would be to die for," Jetfire explained, "We could probably make him do some really crazy stuff that we could video tape and the best part is, he would never remember."

"Until we reminded him," Wing-Saber chuckled, "We'll have to try this sometime."

"Aw, leave poor Megsie alone. Now if you excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom," Angelique claimed getting up from the couch and leaving the room.

Jetfire, Wing-Saber, and Aurora stared after her for a moment. There was silence until Wing-Saber said, "I thought there was a bathroom in here."

"Last time I checked there was," Jetfire returned.

Aurora quickly put two and two together and jumped up from the couch saying, "That sly girl! She's obviously not going to the bathroom; she's going to check out the decepticons half of the base."

Jetfire and Wing-Saber looked at each other and then jumped off the couch themselves. The three of them quickly went off after Angelique.

* * *

Angelique knew it was only a matter of time before Aurora, Jetfire, and Wing-Saber figured out she wasn't going to the bathroom and came after her. Thus, she ran down the hallways until she finally entered the decepticon section. She glanced about realizing it wasn't much different from the autobot section, just darker.

She walked around aimlessly, taking in the sites. Angelique then came upon a room and heard Megatron addressing his troops inside. The girl relished the sound of his voice; she was elated he hadn't tried to kill her yet. She paused outside the door for a moment and jumped back when it suddenly opened. Thundercracker stood in the doorway looking at the startled human. "Hey boss man," he said, "I think we've got ourselves a visitor."

Angelique swore she heard Megatron smirk when he answered Thundercracker from within the room, "Show _her_ in."

Before the girl could react, Thundercracker pulled her into the room. He then positioned himself in front of the door so Angelique couldn't escape. The girl glanced at Megatron and asked, "How'd you know it was me?"

"I figured no autobot would have the guts to come into the decepticon section of the base without my permission."

"I'm dead aren't I?"

"If you would like to be, I'll have that arranged," Megatron said grinning evilly.

"N-No thanks…I think I'll just be going now," Angelique remarked taking a step towards the door.

"Not so fast girl, don't think I haven't forgotten the beating that you were supposed to get earlier."

"Erm…what does it mean if I forgot?"

"Nothing," Megatron answered, "Now, for your…punishment."

* * *

Aurora, Jetfire, and Wing-Saber arrived to the decepticon section and glanced about it warily.

"What are the chances your sister _hasn't_ come across the decons?" Wing-Saber asked.

"Well, Angelique has the worst luck in the world so…I'm betting she's already come across the decons by now," Aurora explained.

"Wonderful," Jetfire remarked, "What do you say we just let the decepticons have her? She's made it quite clear that she wants to be with them."

"Hey, Angelique is my sister and I don't want to see her getting slagged by them, especially since, well, I can't really say."

"What do you mean?" Jetfire continued.

"Well, you didn't hear this from me, but Angelis has _the_ biggest crush on Megatron."

Both Jetfire and Wing-Saber burst out laughing, "She's got a crush on _him_?" Wing-Saber questioned before he burst out laughing again.

"I don't see what's so funny about it," Aurora answered crossing her arms, "I mean, when a girl's in love, a girl's in love."

"Does that mean you're in love with someone?" Jetfire inquired.

"Me? In love with one of you _robots_? Ha! Now that's a laugh."

The two autobots managed to cease their laughter and Wing-Saber persisted with Jetfire's question, "Aw c'mon Aurora, there's got to be someone here that you at least like."

"Not really," she answered, "Now don't ask anymore questions. Oh, and promise me, without crossing anything that you won't tell anyone about who Angelique has a crush on."

"We promise we won't tell only if you tell us who you like," Wing-Saber exclaimed forcing Aurora into a tight spot.

Aurora sighed, "Even if I did have a crush on someone, it wouldn't be either of you. Now, if I absolutely _had_ to end up with one of you transformers, I wouldn't mind being stuck with either Hotshot or Optimus."

"Secrets out of the bag. Now, we promise not to tell anyone who Angelique has a crush on, or you," Jetfire and Wing-Saber both promised.

Aurora nodded, "If you should ever break your promise, the two of you are in for hell, now, let's go rescue my sister."

The three of them headed deeper into the decepticon section of the base.

* * *

"You belong to me human, as a slave or pet, whichever one you prefer to be called," Megatron declared.

"Bull crap! I've got better things to do than sit around and wait on you, like summer homework. Now, if you excuse me," Angelique stated moving towards the door again.

"Hold it _human_," Megatron remarked, "You are not to leave this base, and my word is final."

"That's nice…apparently you don't realize that we are currently in the United States of America, a _free_ country where slavery is _illegal_," the girl explained, "Everyone must follow the laws and you don't have diplomatic immunity."

"Wow, she's good," Starscream exclaimed earning a glare from Megatron.

"We shall see human, but you still belong to me."

"What are you going to do? Piss on me and mark me as your territory?"

Starscream, Ransack, and Crumplezone sniggered at this statement. Megatron clenched his fists and glared at the human. Angelique had a feeling that she was screwed now. The decepticon leader got up from his throne, marched over to Angelique, and grabbed her by her pajama shirt collar. He was just about to say something when suddenly the door burst open and Aurora, Wing-Saber, and Jetfire shoved their way into the room.

"Hey! Get your hands off my sister!" Aurora declared.

Megatron looked over to Aurora and said, "No, she belongs to me now."

"I don't think so," Jetfire remarked, "Humans have their own free will."

"This human is an exception," Megatron stated.

"This human is _no_ exception," Jetfire persisted, "Let her go and we'll be sure doesn't bother you again."

"Besides, it's way past her bedtime," Aurora chimed in.

Megatron gave a quizzical look to Angelique who nodded innocently. He growled a bit and let her go. Wing-Saber, Jetfire, Aurora, and Angelique left the room, and the decepticon section of the base.

Aurora glanced over to Angelique, "So, did you learn your lesson?"

"Yeah, I need to start eating my wheaties."

Aurora shook her head while Jetfire and Wing-Saber chuckled. She then said, "No Angelique, you need to think more, stop lying, and do what you're told."

"That was my next guess."

"Sure it was."

Aurora and Angelique then thanked Jetfire and Wing-Saber for all the things they had done and then went back up to their home to sleep.

* * *

Megatron sat glowering in his throne. _"I'll get that human,"_ he thought, _"She will pay."_

_

* * *

_

Yep, another cliffie provided to you by muah. ; ) Anyway, I'm exhausted/not feeling good and I'm going to bed. Please review!


	4. Prince Charming and Sir Lancelot

My hand is killing me...I just got done writing a three page essay for history class...and I still have homework left to do. You know, I had a snow day Wednesday...but I didn't update anything...sorry...we lost power. I kinda couldn't and I had a lot of other homework to do anyway. But, I guess I really need to get to work on my other stories, huh? WARNING!!! Extreme funny in this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Prince Charming and Sir Lancelot**

Aurora awoke the next morning at 8:30. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she got up and went to the bathroom where she got ready. She remembered the events that had happened the previous day and she smiled to herself, "Oh yeah, this is going to be an awesome summer. Now, how should I wake up Angelique?"

Silently, Aurora left the bathroom and went into Angelique's room. She had to suppress a giggle at the sight of her sister sound asleep, drooling a bit. Angelique had the goofiest look on her face. Walking over to a shelf, Aurora pulled out some of her sister's water balloons. She then returned to the bathroom sink where she filled them with water and then went back to Angelique's room. Aiming, Aurora tossed the two fragile balloons. One hit her square in the face and popped. The other hit her crotch and popped. Aurora burst out laughing as Angelique jumped awake.

"Oh Lord," Aurora laughed, "I wish I had gotten that on camera."

Angelique sat up wiping her face, "Come tomorrow morning, you are so dead."

"I arise to your challenge."

Angelique shook her head and went to the bathroom where she got ready. When she came out, both she and Aurora had breakfast. Once finished, Angelique grabbed her AP English book, Fast Food Nation, and said, "Let's head on down to the base."

"Right, but after what happened last night, make sure you avoid the decepticons at all costs," Aurora warned.

"Does that mean I can drive the rest of the autobots nuts?"

"Absolutely not, now let's go."

Aurora and Angelique then left the house and walked down to the base. The entrance to the base was a carefully hidden elevator that went underground. It was located in one of the many patches of trees. Aurora was the fist to reach the correct patch of trees and pulled a branch on one tree that opened the doors to the elevator hidden in the ground. Angelique and Aurora went in and were lowered into the base. Once inside, the elevator doors opened back up only to reveal Megatron. Angelique jumped and reached for the button to close the doors, but Megatron stood in the way.

"Um, good morning Megatron," Aurora exclaimed, "Do you mind getting out of our way? Or at least out of my way?"

"I only wish for your sister to come with me, Aurora," he said.

"Nah, she's got homework she needs to do."

"She has no choice."

"Who died and left you in charge?" retorted Aurora.

Angelique watched Megatron and Aurora argue for a minute before she silently tiptoed past them. Once a good distance behind Megatron she turned and spoke, "I'll see you guys later okay?"

Megatron and Aurora stopped their bickering and turned to see Angelique at the end of the hall. Megatron took off after her. Aurora watched as Angelique yelped and ran off. She shook her head, "She's on her own this time. I wonder what Optimus is up to?" And with that Aurora exited the elevator and proceeded to the autobot command center where she found Optimus alone typing on a computer.

The autobot leader noticed her and smiling her said, "Morning Aurora, you're welcome to come in."

Aurora stepped in and asked, "So, what's up?"

"Believe it or not, there's an error in the monitor."

"You mean it's already not working?" she remarked coming over beside him and looking at the screen, "Why not?"

"It won't turn on. It doesn't need to be plugged in or anything."

"Hm," Aurora remarked opening a panel on the side to look at the circuitry. "I see the problem. Who assembled this anyway?"

"Wing-Saber," Optimus replied.

"Well, he did a terrible job wiring the thing," Aurora said as she unplugged the wires and put them in their rightful places. A few minutes later she shut the panel saying, "Try that."

Optimus typed in the command for the monitor to come on and this time it obeyed. "Wow Aurora, thanks. I guess you have a talent with electronics."

"Well, I was planning on going into engineering."

"As you should, it's right up your alley."

Aurora smiled shaking her head slightly, "I just got to survive my last year of high school first."

"Hard classes?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. Hey Optimus, now that you and the decepticons are at peace and everything, what's going to happen?"

"Well, we got to make sure the peace is maintained, other than that we really won't have much else to do."

"That means for once in your life you can have fun right?"

"Just what is your definition of fun?"

"Well, listening to music while hanging out with friends."

"Interesting, would you consider me a friend?"

"Of course," Aurora answered.

"Then perhaps you and I can try your definition of fun," Optimus suggested, "Is today Monday?"

"Yes."

"Then what do you say this Friday, at oh say, seven you and I hang out?"

"Just you and me?"

"If you didn't mind…perhaps we could call it a date?"

Aurora felt her cheeks flush a bit, "No, I don't mind. Where do you want to meet?"

"I'll pick you up at your house," Optimus explained, "So do you agree?"

"Yes."

"Alright then."

Aurora was excited beyond belief. She couldn't wait to tell Angelique, but she knew she wouldn't ever hear the end of it. Jetfire and Wing-Saber came into the room suddenly.

"Did you know Megsie is chasing your sister?" Jetfire questioned.

"Yeah I did, but I'm sick of rescuing her. You can tell she enjoys it anyway," Aurora replied.

"Maybe Megatron has an interest in her that he doesn't realize he has," Wing-Saber mused.

Jetfire looked over at him, "Are you insane?"

"Yeah, that was pretty insane wasn't it?"

Aurora rolled her eyes, "Well, it would be a dream come true for Angelique. I think I'll go make sure Megatron doesn't hurt her too bad."

"Be careful," Optimus stated.

Aurora nodded and left the room to go find Angelique.

* * *

Angelique ducked into the hangout and hid behind the couch trying desperately to catch her breath. She waited a few minutes before she went into the bathroom and sat down on the center of the floor and began to read. Angelique had just read the first couple pages when suddenly the doors to the hangout burst open. An all too familiar voice inquired, "What are you doing in the bathroom? Don't tell me you're peeing with the door open again."

"Aurora," Angelique exclaimed sternly, "Mom does that, not me. I'm merely trying to hide and read at the same time."

"From Megatron?"

"Who else?"

"That's nice. Anyways, I'm going to need your help come Friday."

"Don't tell me one of the decepticons is coming after you Friday."

"No, I have a date with Optimus Prime," Aurora exclaimed and watched as her sister's mouth dropped open.

"Nuh-uh," Angelique remarked, "That's wicked! I knew you liked him!"

"Angelique, don't say that."

"Why not? It's obviously true."

"So? Since I've never been on a date before and you have, can you please help me out?"

"Sure. And unless I change my mind, I promise I won't bother you."

"Great."

"Hey Aurora?"

"Yeah?" Aurora responded hearing her sister soften up a bit.

"Do…do you think that anything…romantic…might happen between Megatron and me?" Angelique inquired feeling her cheeks flush.

"Let's see, you're pretty good at making him mad, he thinks he owns you, and he's in the process of tracking you down right now. I don't know, something just might. He was waiting for you when we got off the elevator."

"Yeah so he could slag me."

Aurora sighed and said, "Look…Angelique, I don't want to be the one to tell you this but getting Megatron to fall in love is like trying to nail jello to a tree, nearly impossible."

Angelique looked down at her book, "I thought so."

"Cheer up; it's not the end of the world."

"I could really go for some jello right now."

Aurora smiled shaking her head, "Couldn't we all? Well, I'll let you get some more reading done."

"Okay, have fun making out with Optimus."

"Angelique!"

"Sorry."

Aurora sighed and left the room. Angelique watched as she left and then got up and sat on the couch. She had just begun reading again when she heard a voice say, "There you are you wretched human!"

Angelique saw Megatron in the doorway. "Oh crap," she exclaimed tossing the book aside and trying to make a run for it.

"You're not getting away from me this time," he stated and tackled her just behind the couch.

The girl felt her cheeks redden when she saw the position they were in. Megatron was using his body weight to pin her to the floor. Angelique attempted to struggle, but she could hardly move. "Okay, what do you want?" she asked.

"You are mine human, remember? You are to remain at my side at all times."

"Even when you recharge?"

"Er…no. You will be locked in your quarters—

"Can I have Friday off?"

"There are no vacations human."

"Have a little mercy! My sister has a date Friday and she wants me to help her get—

"I don't care—

"Her date is with Optimus though."

"I said I—wait, Aurora has a date with Optimus Prime?" Megatron asked sounding surprised.

"Erm…if anyone asks, you didn't hear it from me."

"This could prove to be rather interesting. Don't make any plans for this Friday."

"Why?"

"You and I are going to spy on them, and when the moment is right, their date is history."

"Aurora is going to kill me for this. And do I have to go with you? Why not Starscream?" Angelique questioned.

"He's not patient enough."

"Thundercracker?"

"Same reason."

"Thunderblast?"

"Same reason."

"Ransack or Crumplezone?"

"They'll probably be out on a date of their own," Megatron responded annoyed.

"Are you saying that they're gay?"

"You didn't know that they are?"

"I had my suspicions."

"That's nice, discussion about them aside. Now, what times is their, er, date?"

"You say that word like it's poisonous or something," Angelique commented, "The date's at seven."

"Alright, we will discuss this in further detail later. Do I make myself clear human?" the decepticon leader asked.

"Crystal, so, can you be so kind as to get off me?"

Megatron narrowed his optics at her before he stood. Angelique sat up slowly and then climbed to her feet. She brushed herself off before walking past the decepticon leader and returned to the couch where her book was. Sitting on the couch, she opened to book back up and started reading it.

"What do you think you're doing human?"

"Homework."

"Well, not anymore, you are to come with me…immediately."

Angelique looked up from her book and to Megatron saying, "Why?"

"Because I said so," he responded.

"As you command…mother," she retorted causing Megatron to shoot her a threatening glare.

"Watch your tongue human."

"How come you keep calling me human? I have a name you know."

"That's wonderful, when I care to know your name I'll let you know, okay?"

Angelique was the one to shoot him the glare this time and suggested, "Ah, go flush your head down the toilet. If you insist on calling me human, I'll call you…Megahorny."

Megatron scowled then shouted, "HUMAN! You will pay for even _thinking_ about calling me that!"

Angelique couldn't help but giggle at Megatron's reaction. Furious, he charged after her and the girl immediately stopped laughing and ran out of the room.

* * *

Aurora nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone grab her from behind. She turned around only to be face to face with Angelique.

"What did you do now?" Aurora wondered.

"Hide me!" squealed Angelique jumping behind her sister just as Megatron caught up to her.

"Ah, Megatron, what a…pleasant…surprise," Aurora lied.

"Enough of the small talk; hand over your sister now," ordered the decepticon leader.

"Angelique, what did you do to him now?"

"Eh…I called him Megahorny," Angelique replied, "And now I thoroughly regret it."

Aurora bit back her laughter and addressed the decepticon leader, "Well Megatron, I'll turn her over to you. I'll leave it up to you to find a punishment worthy of the crime, and from now on I recommend you keep my sister on a leash."

"Aurora! I hate you!" Angelique exclaimed watching a smirk form across Megatron's lips.

"I love you too sis!" Aurora remarked and then walked away.

Megatron grabbed Angelique firmly by the arm and mused, "I can't see why Optimus is going on a date with her. She's rather mean don't you think?"

"Yes! Mark my words the next time I see her I'm going to carve her heart our and flush it down the toilet," Angelique said.

"I look forward to seeing that human."

"Well, you're not invited to."

Megatron frowned, "I suggest we go find that leash."

"Ugh, you do know she wasn't serious about that, right?"

"Serious or not, it's a good idea. Now come with me my little slave," Megatron remarked and started leading her over to the decepticon side.

* * *

Aurora was stopped by Jetfire and Wing-Saber just outside the command center.

"Where's your sister?" Wing-Saber questioned.

"With Megatron," she answered.

"Doing what?" Jetfire inquired.

"I don't know."

"Awesome, Jetfire, you and I shall make as Prince Charming and Sir Lancelot and rescue the damsel in distress. Whoever gets to her first gets to kiss her," Wing-Saber explained.

"Mission accepted, just as long as I get to be Prince Charming this time," Jetfire stated.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you two up to?" Aurora wondered.

"We are out to conquer your sister's heart because we are bored and have nothing else to do," explained Wing-Saber.

"It's not very wise to mess with Angelique's heart," Aurora warned.

"That's why we plan on messing with her head!"exclaimed Jetfire, "Now, Wing-Saber and I must go rescue yonder fair lady from the evil decepticon king who wishes to wed her and force her to have all his children."

Aurora's eye twitched.

"Hence forth, we are autobot knights sworn to protect all humans from the evil decepticon king and his lackeys! Come Prince Jetfire, the fair damsel awaits our arrival!" Wing-Saber stated and both he and Jetfire went charging down the hall towards the decepticon section of the base.

"Oh Lord, this I got to see," Aurora remarked and hurriedly followed after the duo.

* * *

Aurora caught up with the two just inside the decepticon territory. Jetfire and Wing-Saber went around corners humming the Mission Impossible theme. Aurora could only wonder how humorously this would go down as the two autobots paused outside the entrance to the decepticon throne room.

"Are you ready to rescue thy fair princess?" Wing-Saber asked.

"Oh so she's a princess now?" remarked Aurora.

Wing-Saber nodded as Jetfire replied, "I am ready captain."

"In that case, draw your swords!" Wing-Saber ordered and the two seekers pulled out wooden swords.

_"Oh boy,"_ Aurora thought with a slight blush of embarrassment on her face.

"Attack!" commanded Wing-Saber and the two bots burst into the room surprising the decepticons and Angelique.

Megatron sat in his throne with Angelique at his side. She had a metal collar around her neck with a chain that came off that. The chain was tied to the arm of Megatron's throne.

Wing-Saber went before Megatron holding up his wooden sword triumphantly in the air saying, "Tis I, Sir Lancelot! I command thee, King Megatron, to free thy maiden by your side!"

Megatron's optic twitched, "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"You heard thy fellow knight! Free the princess and we shall be on our merry way," explained Jetfire.

"If this is how the autobots have fun, I am officially scared," Thunderblast piped up.

"Look, I don't know what you idiots think you're doing, but I'm not impressed," Megatron stated.

"We will not let you marry the princess, King Megatron, and force her to have all your children!" Wing-Saber continued.

The decepticon leader's optics narrowed in bewilderment, "Get them out of my sight!"

"No! We shall rescue the princess and obtain true love's first kiss!" declared Jetfire.

Thus, the two autobots went over to Angelique and promptly freed her, while battling off the decepticon "knights." During the midst of the "battle," Wing-Saber took Angelique's hand and knelt down before her saying, "Whilst thou come away with me?"

"Sure, Sir Lancelot, and as a token of my gratitude, I shall reward thee with a kiss upon thy fair cheek," Angelique replied playing along.

"Oh good grief!" Megatron exclaimed, "Wing-Saber, leave my human alone!"

"That's Sir Lancelot to you, _Queen_ Megatron. Now, if you'll excuse us, I've been promised a kiss," Wing-Saber stated lifting Angelique in his arms.

Both he and Jetfire made a hasty retreat back to the autobot section where both Angelique and Aurora nearly died laughing.

"Don't you guys feel like fools?" Aurora questioned.

"Nah, we felt like Sir Lancelot and Prince Charming," Jetfire replied.

"And Angelique still owes me her token of gratitude," Wing-Saber stated.

Angelique shook her head and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

* * *

Lack of sleep and insane-ness...that's my excuse for Sir Lancelot and Prince Charming. Maybe a little too much sugar too...oh well. So, with the prospects of a date and Megatron entering rehab after his latest visit from Wing-Saber and Jetfire (not really), one can only wonder what'll happen next...until then, I would appreciate some wonderful reviews from my wonderful reviewers. Thankies! 


	5. Bodyguard

Yep it's been awhile since I last updated this...but you know the drill, and it's the last time I'll say this so bear with me. My Life Began With You: Deleted Scenes has been scratched and instead there will be a real sequel. Twisted Worlds by Deceptigirl needs more credit, so read and REVIEW that story please and thankies. And I have grim news...not to me...but probably for you, I just got a new job (FINALLY!!) so...my updating time might be even slower. At least until summer. I have 54 school days left (not counting weekends and vacations or tests at the end of the year) Just bear with me until summer! It's coming quickly. Anyhow, here's the next chappie, enjoy!

**Bodyguard**

The next day Angelique and Aurora returned to the base searching around the hangout for Angelique's book, Fast Food Nation. Aurora eventually found it right where Angelique had left it, on the couch. Angelique, yet again, was proven to be blonde…if not; she at least had blonde streaks. Once the book had been found though, the younger sibling set it on a table next to the couch hoping that she would remember it was there.

"So," exclaimed Aurora as she plopped down on the couch, "Got any ideas as to what we can do to pass the day away?"

"Sleep," Angelique responded plainly, "But no, I'm spending today to myself by avoiding Megatron and typing a juicy story about…hmmm…Starscream and Alexis."

"Wonderful. Why don't you check the classifieds for a job?"

"Why would I want a job now that I can spend all my time with the transformers?"

"Excluding Megatron," Aurora remarked.

"Yeah, about him, do you think I'm making any progress?" Angelique questioned with extreme hope in her voice.

Aurora rolled her eyes, "Do you want my truly honest opinion?"

Angelique nodded her head furiously and Aurora sighed heavily before saying, "Its impossible Angelique! If I were you, I'd forget about him and move on. Angelique…all he sees you as is a slave, a pawn in his plans, he doesn't care about you. And I hate telling you this…but you need to know."

Angelique sighed, heavy-hearted and depressed. There was nothing else that felt worse than being told the one you love the most doesn't love you at all, let alone like you. Angelique looked over to Aurora blinking away tears, "I know you're right, but I'm not going to listen. Now, onto my story."

"Right, have fun with that," Aurora said.

Angelique went over to the computer in the hangout. She quickly accessed Microsoft Office and began to slowly type. Aurora watched her sister for a moment and then went to the door. Losing interest in Angelique, she exited the room to see what the autobots—especially Wing-Saber and Jetfire—were up to. Aurora was heading to the command center when she rounded a corner and had a head on collision with Optimus. The autobot leader wasn't affected at all, but Aurora fell prisoner to gravity and landed hard on her rear.

"Ouch," she simply said.

"Forgive me," Optimus exclaimed with concern, "I hope I didn't hurt you. Here, let me help you up." The autobot leader offered her his hand and Aurora graciously took it. He pulled her to her feet and still holding her hand he asked softly, "Are you alright?"

Despite the pain tingling through her butt, Aurora felt her breath catch in her throat and her cheeks flushed as she replied, "Just fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Look Optimus, I got enough padding on my butt to cushion any fall."

Optimus smiled, "In that case, let me escort you to wherever you were heading. It's the least I can do after knocking you down like that."

"Well, I wasn't heading anywhere in particular. I was just going to see what you autobots were up to."

"I was going to go talk to Megatron after talking to Angelique. It's been brought to my attention that he's declared her his personal property…a.k.a slave."

"Well, whoever told you that told you right."

"Do you know what Angelique did to provoke him into his decision?" inquired the autobot leader.

"According to Angelique, he doesn't like how she tackled him that one time, forced him into an alliance, or how she disobeys him. So, in order to punish her, he claimed her as his slave."

Optimus shook his head, "It looks like I'll have to go talk to Megatron."

"I don't know, he still might be trying to recover from what Wing-Saber and Jetfire did last night."

"What did they do now?"

"They kind of, sort of pretended to be Sir Lancelot and Prince Charming and that their mission was to rescue Princess Angelique from the Evil King Megatron, who, in their opinion, was going to force the princess to wed him and have all his children," Aurora explained.

Optimus felt his optic twitch and embarrassment claw through his circuits.

"Yeah, Megatron was wearing the same expression as you are now," added Aurora.

"Those two need to find a better source of entertainment. Well, can you do me a favor and tell Angelique to tell Megatron, if he bothers her again, that I know what's going on and he is to leave her alone?"

"Sure thing," Aurora replied and then realized her and Optimus were still holding hands, "Um…"

Optimus noticed and promptly let her hand go. He then said, "I'll see you later Aurora. And don't forget about Friday night."

"Don't worry, I haven't. And I'll see you later too."

The two of them then parted, but before Aurora could take a step to go anywhere, Jetfire and Wing-Saber popped out in front of her demanding to know further details about her and Optimus. They were also acting like news reporters. Jetfire had a camera held up against his shoulder while Wing-Saber had a microphone. Aurora sighed heavily and looked up to the ceiling wondering why Optimus ever recruited the two of them.

* * *

Angelique was nearly done typing the second page of her story. She stopped for a minute to rest her hands and fingers and hum along to the song she was currently listening to: Amish Paradise by Weird Al. She minimized the story and turned up the music a bit more. Closing her eyes she leaned back in the chair, making it go back on its rear legs. She opened her eyes after a moment and felt something was not right. Angelique looked behind herself only to see Megatron standing there with his arms crossed. The girl was so surprised that she accidentally fell over backwards, chair and all.

Megatron shook his head looking down at Angelique, "You are so pathetic." He then stepped over her to see what she was doing on the computer.

"No! Don't read that! Its private stuff!" declared the girl, who immediately shot to her feet and unplugged the computer before Megatron had the chance to read it. She was sighing in relief until Megatron grabbed her by the shirt collar.

He demanded, "What was that you were writing?"

"It was just a story about Starscream, it has absolutely nothing to do with you, I swear."

"You better not be lying."

"I swore didn't I?"

Megatron slowly looked her over and then let her go. Taking a step away from her he said, "You are to come with me now, slave."

"This is the part where I say no and then scream and runaway, right?"

"No," he answered seizing her by the arm and dragging her out of the room.

All this commotion caught the attention of Wing-Saber and Jetfire who looked to the decepticon leader and Angelique. Wing-Saber then looked to his buddy and exclaimed, "Look! A new story!"

The two of them ran over to Megatron and Angelique. Aurora sighed in relief glad to have the microphone and camera lens out of her face. But she realized then too that Wing-Saber and Jetfire's show as Prince Charming and Sir Lancelot last night had not deterred Megatron away from Angelique. Knowing she had to help her sister out _again_, Aurora made her way over to the procession.

"So Megatron, why are you constantly after this young lady and why are you so interested in her? Do you have a romantic interest in her or something similar to that?" Wing-Saber asked him and then nearly shoved the microphone down the decepticon leader's throat.

Megatron frowned, "Not you two again!"

"Is that your final response?" inquired Wing-Saber.

"No!" growled Megatron, "I don't fell anything towards this human other than hate, and since I have nothing else to do, I figured I'd torture this girl."

"Torture her? How so?"

"Like this," the decepticon leader answered taking the microphone from Wing-Saber and bashing him over the head with it. The microphone snapped in half and then Megatron, smugly, handed it back to the autobot.

Wing-Saber looked at it a minute before he threw it at Megatron, hitting him in the face, and exclaimed, "Quickly Jetfire, we must go and sound the alarms, the rebellion has begun!"

Megatron looked ready to kill, "You two autobots are dead!"

"Are you getting this Jetfire?" Wing-Saber questioned.

"You bet," the cargo plane answered.

"Alrighty then, keep filming while we make like bananas and split!"

"Aye-aye captain!"

Jetfire and Wing-Saber then bolted off. Megatron was just about to head after them when he remembered Angelique. He stopped short in his tracks and then commanded, "Don't go anywhere or else." And without waiting for a response he went after Wing-Saber and Jetfire.

Angelique, noticing Aurora, brushed herself off and then asked, "So, what's for lunch?"

Aurora nearly collapsed from exasperation, "It's only 9:30AM."

"So, I'm hungry. Come on; let's go see if we can find a kitchen."

"Right after we find you a bodyguard that'll keep Megatron away from you."

"I really don't mind Megatron being all over me."

"Angelique…I didn't mean it that way."

"…I'm hungry."

Aurora slapped a hand to her forehead, "We've gone full circle. Okay, so who would you like to be your bodyguard?"

Angelique's eyes brightened suddenly, "Hey, do you want to play the dating game? I'll try to hook up two people and you try to hook two people up."

"Are you even listening to me?" questioned Aurora with a tinge of anger in her voice.

"Um…did you say something?"

Aurora was ready to bang heads together as she repeated, "You need a bodyguard Angelique! Who would you like your bodyguard to be?"

"Um…hmm…either Jetfire or Wing-Saber."

"Well, not both because that's not a good combination. Now, I'm going to go talk to Optimus about this, try to stay out of trouble."

"I'm going to go find a kitchen!"

"Yeah…go knock yourself out," Aurora remarked and walked away.

Angelique watched Aurora disappear around a corner before she shrugged her shoulders and went off to find a kitchen.

* * *

When Aurora arrived to the command center of the autobot side of the base, she stepped in only to see Optimus having a rather heated discussion with Jetfire, Wing-Saber, and Megatron. Jetfire was the one who took notice of her and exclaimed, "Look, another witness!"

Everyone else turned to see Aurora and she raised an eyebrow before musing, "I have a feeling I know what this is about. Let me take a wild guess though, is it about how Jetfire and Wing-Saber provoked Megatron to the point of insanity?"

Optimus turned to the two autobots, "Oh, so Megatron was telling the truth?"

Wing-Saber laughed weakly, "Oh boy, look at the time, got to go!" And both he and Jetfire tore out of the room.

Megatron crossed his arms, "Be sure to punish them well Prime, or else I'll punish them myself."

"Don't worry Megatron, I have the ideal punishment in mind," Optimus responded and then turned to Aurora, "What brings you here?"

"Well, now that Megatron's here, I think I can address the issue of him thinking he owns my sister."

The decepticon leader smirked, "How about you leave my property alone, Aurora."

"Megatron," Optimus spoke up, "Aurora's sister is no one's property. Do I make myself clear? Leave her alone."

"No," Megatron answered simply, still smirking, "Now Aurora, be a dear and tell me where your sister is. She better not have left where I told her to stay."

Aurora swallowed nervously and it didn't go unnoticed by Megatron. She answered, "It doesn't matter, so just leave her alone."

"Wretched human," the decepticon leader growled before shoving past Aurora and leaving the room.

Aurora looked to Optimus and said, "I really don't think screaming and running away is going to be enough to protect Angelique anymore."

"No, you're right. Perhaps, as much as I hate to say this, Angelique shouldn't come down here anymore."

The girl shook her head, "Angelique can't be stopped from coming down here. I was thinking we could have one of the autobots act as her bodyguard."

Optimus rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Actually, I think that might work. Have you talked to her about this?"

"I have and she expressed an interest in either Jetfire or Wing-Saber."

"Hmm…let's go with Wing-Saber. I think he'll be the most dedicated to the cause."

"How come?"

"Well don't tell anyone I told you this, but he has expressed a…romantic interest in Angelique."

Aurora smirked, "Really now?"

"I overheard him talking to Jetfire about it," Optimus confessed.

"I see, well, that would explain some of the crazy things he's done to appeal to Angelique. Though, I don't know if she would reciprocate his feelings."

"What makes you say that?"

"Don't let anyone know that I told you this…but, she likes, no she totally, completely, and utterly loves someone else."

"Is it any of my business asking who?"

"It's Megatron."

Optimus's optics widened, "You're kidding right?"

Aurora shook her head, "I wish, but no."

"Talk about irony…but anyways; let's go find Wing-Saber before Megatron does anything to harm your sister."

Aurora nodded and the two of them went off in search of Wing-Saber.

* * *

Angelique wandered into the bar that was in the hangout. Sliding behind the counter, she looked around a bit before she finally spotted a few cupboards in the back of the room. Angelique immediately went over to them and tore them open.

"Aw man!" she exclaimed, "No food! That means I'll have to go all the way back up to the house." And glumly the girl climbed back over the counter and exited the hangout. Angelique dolefully made her way out of the base and back up to the house to find something to eat.

* * *

Megatron arrived back to the hallway outside the hangout only to find Angelique missing. Not surprised, Megatron peaked in the hangout as well. She wasn't there either. The decepticon leader knew the girl wasn't in the decepticon section, he had posted Thundercracker outside the entrance to the decepticon section of the base, guarding it, and he was to alert him if any autobot or human came by. And the decepticon leader had just been through the autobot section and he had not come across the girl. That meant only one other place for Angelique to be, back up at the house. Megatron didn't give it another thought as he went to the exit of the base and left.

* * *

Optimus and Aurora found Wing-Saber in his quarters typing on his computer, the broken microphone lying on his bed. His door was wide open and the autobot noticed his leader and Aurora immediately. "Hey dudes, what's up?" he asked.

"I have an assignment for you Wing-Saber that you will begin immediately," Optimus declared.

"Yes sir?" Wing-Saver inquired turning to Optimus.

"You are to find Angelique, now, and from this point on, and until further notice, you are to be her bodyguard."

"As you command sir," Wing-Saber responded, "Any idea where she is?"

"Last I knew, she was trying to find a kitchen so she could get something to eat," Aurora explained, "And since there isn't any food down here, she must have gone back up to the house."

"Is Megatron after her?"

"Yes," answered the girl.

"Then I'm off to rescue the beautiful princess again!" exclaimed the bot before he left the room.

Optimus looked to Aurora and asked, "Are you free right now?"

"Yes."

"Well then, how would you like to accompany me to the hangout and teach me how to bowl?"

"Just as long as you don't plan on dropping any balls."

"Now Aurora, just because I don't know how to bowl doesn't mean you can insult manliness."

Aurora smirked, "Wow Optimus, I never viewed you as the perverted type."

Optimus grinned, "Did I not have a sense of humor in the cartoon?"

"Well…not really, when you did, it was really corny."

Optimus crossed his arms, "I'm appalled. Oh well…let's go bowl."

"Right."

Optimus offered Aurora his arm and she couldn't hide a grin as she slid her arm into his and let him escort her to the hangout. Aurora realized right then and there that Optimus wasn't going to have her waste away worrying about Angelique. Instead, he was going to make sure she had fun.

* * *

When Angelique got back to the house, she went to the bathroom since by that time she had to go and couldn't hold it any longer. When she emerged, she went in her room and checked her email to see if anyone had emailed her. No one had and she then left her room and went back out to the kitchen only to nearly be scared out of her skin. "Megatron," she exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

The decepticon leader tilted his head to the side, obviously angry. "What am I doing here?" he repeated in a calm voice. He then grabbed Angelique and slammed her against the door, the doorknob jabbing painfully into her hip. "What am I doing here?" he roared this time, "I would not _be_ here if you had listened to me and stayed where you were!"

Angelique looked at him terrified for a moment before she shouted back, "You're not the boss of me! I do what I want and you have no control over what I do!"

He slapped her, both shocking and silencing the girl. "Now my slave, say you're sorry."

"You first."

He pulled her away from the door and slammed her back into it, the doorknob felt like it was breaking skin. "Say it!" he bellowed.

"No!" she bellowed back and attempted to push him off her.

Furious now, the decepticon leader grabbed her by the shirt collar and pulled her to his optic level. "Either you say it," he said in a deathly low voice, "Or die."

"Megatron, you filthy scum bag! Let her go, now!" came Wing-Saber's voice from the back of the kitchen.

The decepticon leader turned, Angelique still in his grasp, and smirked, "When I'm done with her."

"Do I have to elaborate on the definition of the word now?" questioned Wing-Saber obviously angry.

"I don't follow _anyone's_ orders."

"Well then, I'm honored to be the first person whose orders you will follow."

Megatron glared at him before slamming Angelique back into the door. Seizing the opportunity to free Angelique, Wing-Saber flew at Megatron and connected his fist against the decepticon leader's cheek. The decepticon reeled back and Wing-Saber protectively stepped in front of Angelique.

Seeing he was beat, Megatron exclaimed, "Just you wait, the next time I get my hands on you human, no one is going to be there to save you." And with that he left the house to return to the base.

Wing-Saver turned to Angelique who looked to him with tears in her eyes. He opened his arms to her and she fell into them, crying against his chest. She wasn't afraid, just heartbroken…Aurora had been right…Megatron felt _nothing_ towards her.

Wiping her eyes a few minutes later she asked in a shaky voice, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm your bodyguard now, I'm supposed to be here to protect you," he said cupping her tear stained face in his hand, "Are you still hungry?"

"No…I'm just tired now," she explained.

"Well then," Wing-Saber exclaimed lifting her in his arms, "To bed with you."

"If you insist Lancelot."

"Ah, so the princess remembers?"

"How could I forget?"

"Good point…" he trailed off when he reached her room. Walking in, he laid her down on her bed and laid down next to her.

"Wing-Saber, what are you doing?" Angelique asked looking at him but not putting up a protest.

"Can I take a nap too? Pwease, I promise I'll be good."

"Fine," Angelique answered grinning.

"Goody," he replied wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Ouch…Wing-Saber," Angelique remarked suddenly and forced him to let go of her right hip.

"You alright?" he asked concern in his optics.

Angelique replied, "Megatron…he slammed me into the doorknob a few times."

"Roll over, let me see."

The girl rolled over and Wing-Saber pulled up her shirt, immediately noticing a bruise forming above her right hip from the doorknob. "Bastard," he exclaimed.

Angelique rolled back over and Wing-Saber rewrapped his arms around her. Snuggling her head under his chin she inquired, "Don't you think this is going above the duty of bodyguard?"

"So what if it is? I'm enjoying it."

Angelique smirked and Wing-Saber kissed the top of her head saying, "Rest up princess."

"You too, Lancelot."

* * *

Once Optimus and Aurora finished the bowling game, Optimus playing sore loser, Aurora managed to convince him to accompany her up to the house to check on Angelique and Wing-Saber since neither of them were back to the base yet. When they got back to the house, they immediately noticed that the two of them were nowhere to be found. Aurora decided to check Angelique's room and hit the jackpot. With her and Optimus looking in the room from the doorway, Optimus asked, "Think we should wake them up?"

"Nah, the longer the two of them are not around, the better, but they'll have some explaining to do when they do wake up," Aurora answered.

"I wonder what happened to Megatron."

"He's probably wallowing in defeat somewhere."

"No, Megatron is not one to wallow…he's probably planning something…that's the most reasonable thing."

"Planning what though?"

"I don't think it'll be too long before we know…and let's just hope it's not too bad."

Aurora nodded and both she and Optimus headed back down to the base.

* * *

Soooo...Megatron's mad and is it just me or are Angelique and Wing-Saber getting downright fluffy? And Optimus and Aurora still have plans for a Friday night date...so...review please and thank you!


	6. Friday Night Dates

I stayed up until 1:00am working on this story for you peoples...no worries, I couldn't get to sleep. So, I figured I'd upload it this morning before school for you guys. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, I really appreciate it. Enjoy chapter six!

**Chapter 6: Friday Night Dates**

Friday morning Aurora woke up at 8:30am too excited to fall back to sleep. She, a meager human girl, had a date with Optimus Prime, the leader of the autobots. Of course she was nervous too. This was going to be her first ever date and she knew she was going to drive Angelique nuts all day asking for advice, but she didn't care.

Getting up from the bed, Aurora grabbed her clothes and went to the bathroom where she did her business, got dressed, and took care of her hygiene. She exited the bathroom, tossed her clothes in the dirty clothes and then made her way to the kitchen, but stopped short in the living room when she saw Angelique, fully dressed, snuggled up on the couch with Wing-Saber reading Fast Food Nation.

Crossing her arms Aurora said, "Don't you think you two are getting a little too close in your relationship, which is only about two days old?"

"Relationship?" questioned Angelique as she looked over to Wing-Saber, "We're going out?"

"Well, if you would like to," Wing-Saber replied.

"Are you asking me?" wondered the girl.

He pulled her closer to him, "Would you like to go out with me?"

"Of course."

"Well then, you know what this means don't you?"

"It means I'm going to barf on you two if you don't shut up!" Aurora exclaimed going into the kitchen.

Wing-Saber and Angelique paid her no mind as the autobot asked, "Are you free tonight?"

"Megatron did want me to help him crash Optimus and Aurora's date tonight."

"Well, he'll have to find someone else because it's my sworn duty to protect you from him."

"Says my bodyguard boyfriend."

Wing-Saber poked her in the side causing her to jump. He said, "Seriously Angelique, I don't want him to hurt you. Stay away from him okay?"

Angelique set her book aside and looked to Wing-Saber saying, "I can't help it I'm attracted to the bad guys. Now…on a serious note, like you said, Megatron came to my window last night and the sh—daylights out of me."

"What did he do?"

"He tapped on it, woke me up, and had me come over to the window to open it, so I did. He said I still belonged to him and that he was going to take me back permanently very soon."

"There's going to be a killing," Wing-Saber exclaimed.

"Okay," Angelique said and stood up from the couch and stretched.

Wing-Saber sat up and watched saying, "Thank you gorgeous for the wonderful show." He then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down onto his lap. He whispered, "Let's go on a date tonight."

"Okay, but where to?"

"The base," he murmured, "Let's you and I crash Optimus and Aurora's date instead."

Angelique got a playful look in her eye, "I like my bodyguard boyfriend."

He smiled, kissed her cheek, and said, "Give me all the info you know about their date."

Angelique cupped her mouth and whispered in his audio receptor.

While munching on her cereal, Aurora could see Angelique whispering something to Wing-Saber, and she was pretty sure whatever was being discussed was about her. Growling lightly, she finished eating and took care of her cereal bowl. Not wanting to know what was being discussed; she left the house and headed down towards the base. Aurora was caught by surprise though when she entered the base and was immediately seized by her shirt collar by a certain angry decepticon.

"Megatron," she said in surprise, "You have the wrong girl."

"No, I have the right one," he replied lifting her to his optic level, "Is your sister coming?"

"No, Wing-Saber won't let her."

"Still? That damned idiot hasn't let her come down here the last two days."

"I wonder why," Aurora mumbled to herself and then exclaimed, "Why so interested, Megatron?"

"I have unfinished business with her that needs to be taken care of."

"Have you nothing else to do other than stalk my sister?" demanded Aurora.

Megatron smirked, "Apparently you and your sister both still have yet to learn that I always get what I want."

"Not this time, now let me go."

"Is Wing-Saber with your sister right now?"

"Duh! And they're probably suckin' face too," Aurora remarked and then realized she probably shouldn't have let that slip.

Megatron raised an optic ridge, "Oh really now? They're that close?"

"Just leave them alone," Aurora said and Megatron let her go.

He mused to himself a moment and the girl could tell he was scheming something. She watched as he walked into the base and disappeared around the corner. With a huff she went off in search of Optimus.

Aurora went to the command center of the autobot section of the base first, but only Jetfire, Hotshot, and Override were in there. Deciding they looked too busy to be bothered, Aurora settled on trying Optimus's office next. The door was shut when she arrived, and, knocking softly on the door, she waited to see if Optimus was inside.

"Enter," the autobot leader's familiar voice chimed from the inside.

Aurora smiled and walked into his office. The autobot leader looked up to see who had entered and grinned when he saw it was Aurora. Turning his attention away from the computer and to her he said in the sweetest voice anyone's ever heard, "Morning Aurora, how are you?"

"Just fine, what about you?"

"Better now that I've seen you, "Optimus replied causing Aurora to blush slightly. He then continued, "So what brings you here?"

"Not much," she answered walking over to his desk and taking a seat in the chair in front of it, "I met Megatron on the way here."

Optimus growled, "What did he want?"

"Angelique, as usual."

"Well, he better not start using you to get to her."

"I don't understand his huge…obsession with her anyway," Aurora confessed.

The autobot leader sighed, "He's bored and has nothing else to do but torture her. And get this; since Angelique hasn't been around, Megatron has been threatening to break the alliance until he gets her."

"That still doesn't explain why…there's something else there I'm telling you."

"No…trust me on this, Megatron is extremely depressed."

"Depressed? Why?"

"Without war, Megatron has nothing, war is his life, and now that the war is over…in a sense…his life is too."

"I don't see how this involves Angelique though."

"He _wants_ to torture her, to hear her scream and bask in her pain and revel in her suffering…she means absolutely nothing to him, and torturing her, possibly even killing her would give him some of the thrill that battle did…I didn't want to tell you this Aurora…not at all."

Aurora's face paled and she stared at Optimus's desk a moment before she finally said, "I knew I had a reason to hate Megatron. Jeezum…if he only had a mother who could've raised him properly."

Optimus chuckled, "Perhaps it's best that we let this issue drop for now."

"Alright…so…what are the plans for tonight?"

"Oh…you'll see."

"You do not understand how much I hate those two words."

Optimus laughed lightly, "Just so you know, you'll like it. At least I hope you do."

"We'll see. I'll be the judge when the time comes."

"Just as long as I get a fair trial."

"I'll think about it."

"Only think about it?" questioned the autobot leader jamming a finger into her side threatening to tickle her, "I have my ways of getting you to grant me something."

Aurora flinched, "No, you wouldn't dare."

"I would," he said as he began tickling her.

"S-Stop!" Aurora demanded through laughs, "You win! You win!"

"Do you mean that?"

"Yes!"

"Okay," he answered and stopped tickling her.

"God, Optimus. I almost wet my pants."

"Um…that wouldn't have been good."

"I know. Anyhow, I'm going to go check on my sister just to make sure her and Wing-Saber are behaving."

"Just how are they getting along?"

"They're a couple now…boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Well then, I guess they're getting along just fine."

"Does Jetfire miss his buddy?" inquired Aurora.

"No…Hotshot is keeping him busy."

"Oh, that's good. Well, I'll see you later Optimus."

"You too Aurora."

And with that she left the autobot leader's office and headed back up to the house. She knew it was high time that Wing-Saber let Angelique come back down to the base so she wouldn't have to constantly make these trips back and forth between the base and her house.

* * *

Angelique and Wing-Saber nodded and shook hands before finalizing their agreement. Optimus and Aurora were in for the date of their lives.

"So," Angelique piped up, "Do you enjoy pranking Optimus?"

"You bet. Do you like pranking your sister?"

"Let's just say I owe her from a few mornings ago when she so generously woke me up with water-balloons," she explained.

Wing-Saber chuckled and said, "Well, she's got hers coming to her."

The two of them heard the door open and close and immediately fell silent. For precaution, Wing-Saber yelled, "Who is it?"

"Who do you think?" Aurora responded.

"Oh, it's you. Well, I had to make sure it wasn't Megatron here to harm my precious little Angelique," Wing-Saber replied.

"Please, don't make me sick," Aurora stated as she appeared in the living room, "Angelique, get off his lap, we're going to the base."

"But Wing-Saber likes it when I get him aroused," Angelique said back causing the autobot to laugh.

"Didn't I just say don't make me sick?"

"Sorry."

"No you aren't."

Angelique grinned, "Nope."

Aurora rolled her eyes and said, "C'mon, let's go to the base."

"Angelique isn't going down there," Wing-Saber explained.

"You're coming too, she's not going anywhere without her bodyguard," Aurora stated.

"Please?" Angelique asked giving Wing-Saber the best puppy dog face that she could.

"Why do you need to go down there?" he asked back.

"Because," she said and then whispered in his audio receptor, "We need to get things ready for tonight."

"Oooo…right," Wing-Saber exclaimed, "Okay, let's go."

"What did you say to him?" Aurora asked annoyed.

"Nothing," Angelique replied, sounding as innocent as possible.

"Knowing you, you guys probably have something planned that I'm not going to like at all," Aurora declared.

"Aurora, chill out," Wing-Saber said.

"I will when you two are trustworthy."

"That may be a long time," Angelique remarked getting up from Wing-Saber's lap, "I'm going to beat you all back down to the base." And she ran out of the room.

"Honey, wait up!" Wing-Saber called heading after Angelique.

Aurora watched as he left the room and felt her eyes widen. "Wow…"she exclaimed, "I'm surrounded my morons."

* * *

The rest of the morning and most of the afternoon Angelique and Wing-Saber made the preparations for their "date." Aurora had spent most of her time chatting with the autobots (mainly Optimus) and trying to find Wing-Saber and Angelique, but never succeeded. 

Eventually Aurora went back up to the house where she found Angelique alone and without Wing-Saber. She saw her sister was in the process of making dinner and asked, "So, what are you cooking?"

"Soup and sandwiches. You're making your own sandwich though," Angelique replied.

"That's fine," Aurora answered, "Where's Wing-Saber?"

"Back down at the base."

"Are you two really going out or is it a show?"

"We're going out," Angelique replied as she finished preparing her sandwich.

Aurora took the bread from her and started making her own and then finally asked, "So…you moved on from Megatron?"

Angelique sighed heavily and answered, "No. Yeah, he did hurt me and scared the crap out of me a couple days ago…but…but love is not an easy thing to shove aside."

"So, are you with Wing-Saber for a good time?"

"For now…I'm hoping he helps me forget about Megatron."

Aurora smiled softly, "I hope he does."

"Enough about me. Hurry up, it's 6:00, you have a date with Optimus Prime in an hour."

Thus, the girls quickly finished making their dinner and then ate it nearly as fast. Afterwards, Angelique took care of the dishes while Aurora changed into a different outfit that Angelique had already preselected. It was a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a nice red top. It was a short-sleeve top however, and Angelique had already explained that if she got cold, she could tell Optimus, and it would be up to him to keep her warm. Aurora then did her hair and got a double thumbs up from Angelique. It was then 6:55 and they had five minutes to kill.

"Nervous?" Angelique asked elbowing her sister.

"Let's just say I'm trying to keep my dinner in," Aurora replied.

"Calm down, I've been on a few dates, you'll have a blast. And the best part is you don't have to eat any food with this guy."

Aurora smiled weakly just as there was a knock on the door. She felt herself freeze and said, "That's him."

Angelique pulled her up from the couch, "So go answer the door."

Aurora swallowed and went to the kitchen and opened the door revealing Optimus. All at once she felt some of the nervousness melt away and the knot in her stomach loosen considerably.

"Evening Aurora," Optimus said handing her a bouquet of flowers, "You look beautiful."

Aurora blushed as she accepted the flowers and said, "Wow Optimus, thanks."

Angelique appeared beside Aurora and said, "I'll take care of these, you guys go have fun." And she carefully took the bouquet from Aurora.

Optimus offered Aurora his hand and she took it and the two left for the base. Angelique shut the door behind them and put the flowers in a vase with water. She then shouted, "Okay Wing-Saber, you can come out now!"

And Wing-Saber emerged from the basement saying, "About time, I was getting lonely down there."

Angelique smiled and said, "What were you doing down there?"

"Heh…sleeping."

He didn't notice Angelique sigh with relief because he hadn't heard what she had said about him or Megatron. Instead she remarked, "At least you weren't getting into trouble. C'mon, let's go before we lose them."

"As you command," he replied and the two of them headed down to the base.

Wing-Saber and Angelique caught up to Optimus and Aurora in the hangout where they were bowling. They both snuck behind the couch where they hid. Wing-Saber then silently produced two whoopee cushions from his subspace and handed one to Angelique. Wing-Saber then took out a remote control and a microphone. Music was playing in the hangout and when the song ended, Wing-Saber pressed a button on the remote control and hooked up the microphone to the remote. He then said sounding exactly like the radio DJ, "This next song goes out to all you lovebirds out there, young and old. Whether it is your first date or you hundredth, get up and dance."

He then pushed another button on the remote that turned on a slow song and turned off the mike. Angelique and Wing-Saber watched as Aurora and Optimus got up to slow dance. When two had their backs turned though, Angelique and Wing-Saber placed the whoopee cushions on their seats and went back out the door, but stayed within earshot of the room.

They listened as the song ended and two identical "blats" resonated across the room. Both Wing-Saber and Angelique had to bite their bottom lips to keep from laughing. They watched as Optimus and Aurora pulled out the whoopee cushions and then laughed themselves.

Angelique frowned and then whispered, "That wasn't supposed to happen!"

"Water-balloon time," Wing-Saber exclaimed as he pressed another button on the remote and a huge net of water-balloons appeared above Optimus and Aurora. He pressed another button and the balloons cascaded down, popping and soaking the autobot leader and Aurora.

Angelique high-fived Wing-Saber saying, "Nice."

Wing-Saber then said into the mike, "Tonight's show was sponsored in part by Wing-Saber and Angelique, thanks to viewers like Optimus and Aurora."

Optimus and Aurora then looked over to the door and Aurora shouted, "Oh, just wait until I get my hands on you two!"

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Optimus exclaimed.

"Uh-oh," Wing-Saber remarked.

"Run!" Angelique exclaimed.

And the two of them made a run for it, Wing-Saber forgetting the mike and remote and not realizing it. They rand down a series of halls and stopped just outside decepticon territory by a supply closet. It was then Wing-Saber remembered the mike and remote.

"Oh shoot," he remarked.

"What?" Angelique asked trying to catch her breath.

"I left the mike and the remote back at the hangout. I got to sneak back and get them."

"Nice one."

"Hide in that supply closet until I get back; lock the door so no one can get in."

"Alright," Angelique said opening the door, "How long should this take?"

"I don't know, so just wait there and do not leave," Wing-Saber said, "Now hurry up and get in."

Angelique went inside the closet and shut the door, locking it. Wing-Saber made sure the door was locked and then started making his way back to the hangout careful to avoid Optimus and Aurora.

"Thundercracker to Megatron, I've located that human in the supply closet outside the base."

* * *

Angelique checked the time on her cellphone. She had gone in the closet at 8:32pm and now it was 8:37pm. Five minutes had gone by and Wing-Saber still wasn't back. Sighing, Angelique leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. She had been lucky that the closet was empty and there was no greasy machinery inside to stain her clothes or get her dirty. She thought back to her sister's date and she shook her head smiling, the reaction on her face had been priceless.

Suddenly a dimension gate opened, but having her eyes closed Angelique didn't notice. That was until the gate disappeared and an all too familiar voice said, "Ah human, how nice it is to see you again."

Angelique snapped her eyes open and saw the pale blue optics and darkened outline of the last person, well, transformer she had expected to see. "M-Megatron?" she stuttered, "What are you doing here?"

"I've only come to retrieve you, my slave," he explained forcing her into a headlock and covering her mouth and nose with a cloth that was covered with an anesthetic.

It was a few moments before Angelique fell limp, and when she did, Megatron opened a dimension gate and disappeared through it with Angelique.

* * *

Wing-Saber managed to get back to the hangout without being discovered, and also make his way back to the supply closet where he told Angelique she could come out…but received no response. After a few more failed prodding's he got a terrible sinking feeling and broke the door down only to find the closet completely…empty.

"Oh no," Wing-Saber exclaimed and frantically began searching the base for Angelique. As he went down a hallway, he ran into no one other than Optimus and Aurora.

Aurora crossed her arms and said, "You're dead buddy."

"Aurora, Optimus, this has to wait," he exclaimed frenetically.

Optimus noticed his anxious tone and asked concerned, "Why? What's wrong?"

"I can't find Angelique."

* * *

Dun, dun, DUN...evil cliffie huh? Anyhow, I'd love some reviews from you generous people who brighten my day with your kind words. Now, it is time to go to school...and it appears I have to tend to my cat as well who has been extra clingy lately...until the next chapter!


	7. No Freedom Tonight

It's past one thirty in the morning again...perhaps I shouldn't stay up so late...oh well. I enjoy staying up late. Anyhow, here's the next chapter. And yay! I've updated all my stories!

* * *

**Chapter 7: No Freedom Tonight**

Aurora looked up at him in shock and disbelief. "You lost my sister?" she hissed, shock sinking in.

"I left her alone for just over five minutes and when I cam back, she was gone," Wing-Saber exclaimed, "We have to find her."

"Have you looked around for her?" Optimus questioned, "She could have gone back up to the house."

"I—I doubt it. I sort of…left her outside the decepticon section of the base."

"You what?!" Aurora exclaimed, "What kind of bodyguard are you?"

"A bad one," Wing-Saber confessed, "I'm going to look around the base a bit more."

"Alright, I'm going to take Aurora back up to her house so we can look there…and Aurora needs to change her clothes before she gets sick. If Angelique isn't up there we'll be back down," Optimus explained.

Wing-Saber nodded his head and then asked, "What if Angelique isn't back up at the house…and what if I don't find her here?"

"We'll radio Megatron," he stated matter-of-fact and then turned and headed out of the base with Aurora.

Wing-Saber watched them go and then resumed his search for Angelique.

* * *

As Optimus and Aurora approached the house, they saw no lights were on. Aurora hoped to God that Angelique was only playing a prank; that the decepticons hadn't gotten to her. Aurora stepped inside the house with Optimus and flicked on the light switch. She immediately looked to the shoe mat and saw that her sister's shoes were not there. Optimus watched as Aurora sighed heavily and slipped off her shoes.

"You want me to look around for her while you change?" he asked.

"You can look for her if you want, she's not here."

"Go get changed," he said.

And Aurora went to her room where she got a dry pair of clothes and then went into the bathroom to change. As she did so, Optimus looked around the house just to be sure Angelique wasn't there, and found nothing. He waited in the living room and just as Aurora came out of the bathroom Optimus's comlink burst to life.

"Wing-Saber to Optimus."

"I'm here Wing-Saber."

"I've looked everywhere in the autobot section and neutral zones of the base. Angelique isn't here," Wing-Saber reported.

"Alright…she's not up here either. Aurora and I will report back to base and get a hold of Megatron. Chances are he'll know where Angelique is."

"Yes sir," Wing-Saber replied and ended the transmission.

Aurora looked over to Optimus and said, "If that jerk named Megatron has my sister he will pay."

Optimus put an arm around her and said, "Something will be done about him, that's for sure."

And the two of them headed back down to the base.

* * *

Angelique felt cold metal beneath her…and her head was pounding…she was still so tired. Her eyes fluttered open and she was nearly blinded by a bright light…and she quickly squeezed her eyes shut before groaning, "Where am I?"

She heard a soft chuckle before the voice of her dreams replied, "I see you're awake…earlier than I thought you would be."

Angelique's memory slowly returned to her…the date…running away...then the closet…and finally Megatron coming. She reopened her eyes this time prepared for the light, and her eyes soon adjusted. She glanced about the room noticed she was still in the base. Her vision was blurry and she could barely make out the outline of a dark figure looming over her.

It was a few moments before her vision cleared, but when it did, she saw Megatron looking down at her with an evil, sadistic look on his face. Angelique managed to pry her eyes from his face and noticed she was currently lying down on a couch. The room they were in appeared to be rather spacious, and it also looked like there were multiple rooms connected to the one room they were in.

Feeling her eyes becoming heavy with sleep from the anesthetic, she asked in a pathetically tired tone, "Megatron…whaddo you want…with me?"

"Foolish girl, how many times do I have to tell you that you _belong_ to me?"

"Oh…yeah," she said resting her head back against the couch. She yawned, "Where am I?"

"My quarters."

"Oh…" she managed to sigh before falling back to sleep.

* * *

Optimus and Aurora had made it back into the base and were currently trying to enter the decepticon territory of the base, but one obstacle stood in there way, and that obstacle was named Thundercracker. Just as they were about to take a step into the decepticon section of the base, the seeker stepped out in front of them and demanded, "Where do you think you're going?"

The autobot leader looked to Thundercracker and exclaimed, "We have business with Megatron, let us through."

"Sorry, but you have to get Megatron's permission in order to come in here."

Aurora snarled not caring about Thundercracker's size or strength as she grabbed him by the neck with both hands and pulled him down to her eye level. Optimus looked just as shocked as Thundercracker did when Aurora scowled, "My sister is missing and we have every reason to believe Megatron was the reason for her disappearance. I'll be damned if I find out you had a part in it too, now let us in!"

Thundercracker swallowed hard and said, "Let me radio Megatron."

Slowly Aurora let him go and the decepticon tuned his comlink to Megatron's. "Sir, this is Thundercracker," he spoke.

Static and then, "What is it?"

"Optimus and Aurora would like to see you."

"Why?" questioned Megatron.

"Aurora says her sister is missing and both she and Optimus believe—

"Missing?" Megatron asked in a faked surprised tone, "They _lost_ my human?"

Optimus and Aurora glanced at each other not sure what to think. Optimus knew there was the possibility that Megatron was pretending, he was good at lying, and he didn't want Aurora believing his lies.

"Apparently so," Thundercracker replied, "Can they come in?"

"Show them in, they can find me in my quarters."

"Yes sir," Thundercracker said ending the transmission. He then looked to Optimus and Aurora before stepping out of their way.

Aurora and Optimus then proceeded into the decepticon section of the base. When the two of them were out of Thundercracker's view Optimus stepped a little closer to Aurora and warned, "Stay close to me."

* * *

Megatron sighed impatiently knowing he had to hide Angelique now before Optimus and Aurora came knocking on his door. He thought for a moment trying to think of where he could hide her, and then he remembered that right outside the base was a fenced in portion of property, he didn't know or care who it belonged to, he just knew the chain link fence was high enough to keep Angelique in and there were plenty of trees to hide her behind. Opening a dimension gate, he gruffly lifted Angelique in his arms and took her through it. Once through, he found a patch of trees and hid the sleeping girl amongst them. Megatron then opened another dimension gate and went back to his quarters.

* * *

Aurora sighed feeling deterred by what Megatron had said when Thundercracker had called him. Optimus noticed Aurora's downcast mood and said, "We'll find your sister."

"What if Megatron doesn't have her? He sounded pretty surprised when he heard Angelique is missing."

"Take into account that Megatron is an expert liar. He had expressed an interest in enslaving your sister, so all fingers point to him," Optimus exclaimed.

"I don't know…Megatron was willing to let us come in to talk with him."

"He could easily hide her, there are—

"Wait!" shouted a voice behind them.

Aurora and Optimus turned and saw Wing-Saber running up to them. When he got to them Aurora asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm coming with you guys. It's my fault Angelique disappeared in the first place and I'm going to help find her," he explained.

Optimus nodded, "Alright…but, how did you get past Thundercracker?"

"Hit and run my good friend, hit and run."

The autobot leader shook his head and the three of them continued to Megatron's quarters. When they got there, Optimus knocked. It was a few moments before Megatron answered the door, but when he did he looked them over before finally saying, "Where's my human?"

"_You're_ human?" Aurora fumed, "Say that _one_ more time and he'll punch you." And she pointed to Optimus.

Optimus looked from Aurora to Megatron and said, "You can stop pretending Megatron, we know you took the girl."

Megatron crossed his arms annoyed, "I haven't seen that wretched human for the past few days, including today."

"She was last seen outside the decepticon section of the base. That's a rather strong clue that either you or one of your minions has her," Wing-Saber piped up.

"Just why, in the name of Primus, do you think _I_ have her?" questioned the decepticon leader.

"Oh, let's see here," Aurora stated and then mimicked Megatron, "Where's my human? I have unfinished business with her that needs to be taken care of."

"Yeah," commented Wing-Saber, "Just what was up with you coming to Angelique's window last night and telling her that you were going to take her back permanently very soon?"

"Angelique?" he asked.

"My sister!" Aurora hollered back, "You mean to tell me you didn't even know her name?"

"I saw no reason to."

"Just what happened last night?" Optimus questioned, "Did you or did you not visit Angelique?"

"I never saw her!" Megatron shouted.

Aurora growled and shoved past Megatron into his room saying, "I don't believe you!"

Megatron crossed his arms, "You can look for her all you want, you're not going to find her."

Optimus thought for a moment and then said, "Aurora, Wing-Saber, let's go, it's quite apparent Angelique isn't here."

* * *

Angelique woke up surprised to see the starry night sky above her. She rubbed the remainder of the sleep from her eyes and sat up to take in her surroundings. She saw her house not too far away, and she also saw the entrance area of the base. Immediately she recognized where she was, though she had no idea how she got where she was…other than Megatron putting her there.

"Well that means," she thought out loud, "I better get going before Megatron comes back…if he comes back." With that she got up and quickly started heading to her house.

* * *

"Go?" both Wing-Saber and Aurora exclaimed surprised.

Optimus nodded, "Yes, now come on."

Slowly Aurora came out of the room. She shot Megatron a glare as she walked by. Megatron snorted in reply and Optimus sighed. Wing-Saber, Optimus, and Aurora then began walking back to the autobot section of the base. Megatron watched until they disappeared around a corner and then went back into his quarters shaking his head. Once inside he opened a dimension gate and stepped through to go retrieve Angelique.

* * *

Aurora glanced to Wing-Saber and then Optimus before letting out a frustrated sigh and exclaiming, "Optimus, why the hell are we letting Megatron off the hook like this?"

"Angelique isn't there right now," he answered.

"So? We torture him until we get her back!"

Optimus shook his head, "No, we lie low a couple days and then catch him unaware."

"Can we afford to wait a few days?" Wing-Saber wondered, "Chances are Megatron is not going to feed her or give her anything to drink."

"Then he'll be forced to let her go," Optimus said, "I have a feeling that he does not want her dead."

Aurora sighed. She wasn't sure if she entirely agreed with Optimus's plan, but yet she didn't know what else to do. All she wanted was her sister back, safe and sound, and she hated waiting while not knowing where her sister was and if she was alright or not.

It wasn't long before the three of them exited the decepticon territory and were back in the autobot section. Wing-Saber faked a yawn and said, "I guess I'm going to head off to recharge."

Optimus nodded, "Stay out of the decepticon portion of the base as well. We want to keep a low profile."

Wing-Saber nodded and headed off to his quarters. Aurora watched him and when he was gone she stated, "He's too worried about Angelique to sleep."

"I noticed. Come on, I'll walk you home," he replied offering her his hand.

She smiled and took it while saying, "Our date was awesome, despite the disappearance of Angelique."

"The next one will be better," he explained.

Aurora looked at him surprised, "Next one…really?"

"Well, I would like to go on another date with you."

"Where to?"

"You decide," he said as they headed to the exit of the base.

"My house, a double date with you, Angelique, Wing-Saber, and I," she answered.

"I see I will have to wait then," Optimus mused and then added, "You're worth waiting for though."

Aurora felt her cheeks flush.

* * *

Angelique had just scaled the fence, cutting her arm in the process and she could feel the blood beginning to trickle from the cut. A flash caught her eye suddenly and she glanced behind to see a dimension gate opening.

"Oh crap," she exclaimed and quickly ran across her yard into the house.

The lights were on in the house and as Angelique came in, she didn't bother to shut the door behind her as she kicked her shoes off. "Aurora?" she called afraid to shout because she thought Megatron would hear, "Aurora?"

Aurora didn't answer and Angelique realized she wasn't in there and that she had to hide. She was scared to death of Megatron for the first time in her life and it was all she could do to keep herself from throwing up. Shaking her head she crossed the kitchen and headed to her sister's room to hide since the door to her room had been broken from when Megatron tore it open, and she just didn't feel safe in there. She left a small trail of blood behind her.

* * *

Megatron was surprised when he got to the brush where he had left Angelique and didn't find her there. He glanced over to her house and zoomed his optics in on the windows…just in time to witness Angelique cross the kitchen before she disappeared down the hallway. Knowing he had gone through too much to lose her now, he took to the air and flew over to her house.

* * *

Angelique had just locked the door to her sister's room when she suddenly heard the screen door in the kitchen creak open and then bang shut. She nearly wet her pants when she heard a male voice she loved call out gruffly, "Human, I know you're in here, come out now."

Thinking quickly, Angelique went over to the window and threw it open. Quickly she punched out the screen. There was a knock on the door and then a taunting, "Human…"

Angelique slipped one leg out and then the other just as the door was ripped open. She glanced behind herself seeing Megatron, and she quickly slid out the window where fell five feet to the ground…and landed on her ankle wrong. She grimaced as a wave of pain shot up her leg. Ignoring it though, she stood and quickly hobbled forward in an attempt to out run Megatron to the base. As she ran though, the pain only became greater and she slowed drastically. She was just about to look behind herself when Megatron tackled her to the ground by a cluster of trees in her yard. She landed on her stomach, but the decepticon leader ruthlessly flipped her over. His fiery blue optics met her hazel eyes and she screamed, "AURORA!"

* * *

Optimus and Aurora had just exited the base when they heard the scream. "That was Angelique," Aurora exclaimed and then took off running towards the house shouting, "Angelique?! Where are you?"

"Aurora!" Optimus hollered, "Aurora, wait!" And he took off running after her.

* * *

Megatron turned his attention to the gully when he heard Aurora and Optimus coming. He slammed a hand over Angelique's mouth and pressed himself down hard against her to keep from being seen as he whispered harshly, "Don't make a sound."

Angelique let out a small whimper that was barely audible. Megatron ignored it and watched as Aurora and Optimus ran by and into the house. Megatron then scooped Angelique up, opened a dimension gate and the two of them disappeared through it.

* * *

Optimus caught up to Aurora at the door to the house. She stood there looking into the house before she questioned, "Why is the door open?"

Aurora then opened the screen door and walked into the kitchen where she noticed Angelique's shoes and remarked, "Look her shoes!"

Optimus saw the shoes but a small patch of red on the linoleum floor caught his optic as well and he questioned, "Aurora, is that blood?"

Aurora saw it and her eyes followed the trail of it through the kitchen. She and Optimus followed the path of blood into her room where she noticed the screen in her window was missing and blood on the window sill.

"Oh my gosh," Aurora exclaimed, "Someone chased her through the house…and why was she bleeding?"

Optimus examined the window sill and noticed something. There was a small spec of energon on it. "Well, I'll be," he exclaimed.

"What?"

"There's energon here."

"Do you know whose it is?"

"I'll scan it and see if I can find a match," he explained as he scanned the energon with a small device that he had pulled out of his subspace.

Aurora sighed and sat down on the bed. Optimus came over and sat down next to her as the device searched for a match to the energon. "Aurora, do you want to come down to the base with me and stay in my guest quarters? I really don't like the idea of you being up here alone," Optimus explained.

"Can I? I really don't feel safe being up here by myself."

"It's settled then, go change into your pajamas and—

"Energon match found," spoke the device suddenly.

Both Aurora and Optimus looked to see a picture of Megatron's face on the screen.

* * *

Angelique stumbled out of the dimension gate ahead of Megatron and into his quarters. She turned around and looked at him, reading the familiar angry and annoyed look on his face. He crossed his arms and looked back at her before saying, "That was amusing…but it infuriated me nonetheless, therefore you _will_ be punished."

She didn't know what to do let alone say. From years of watching Transformers on television she knew begging simply annoyed Megatron. And she didn't have the guts to fight him, but she really didn't want to be his slave either. She glanced at her arm and noticed that the cut really wasn't bleeding anymore and she sighed heavily before saying, "I'm going to go commit suicide in the bathroom now."

The decepticon leader scowled, "Worthless human, go fix your wound and report back to me, _immediately_."

"But I hurt my ankle and—

"And you were able to run from me, so I really don't care."

Angelique took a long look at him before hobbling into the bathroom, surprised that Megatron had a bathroom in his quarters and shut the door behind her.

* * *

Optimus watched as Aurora clenched her hand into a fist and then slammed it onto the bed. "That dirty rotten scum bag!" she declared, "He lied! He has Angelique!"

"Well, now that we have the proof against him we'll have to formulate a plot to get her back since Megatron has made it quite clear that he's not giving her up."

"Why though? Why is he so obsessed with her?"

Optimus shook his head saying, "Aurora, we've been over this."

She sighed heavily before replying, "I know. I'm just worried about her because she is my sister and all."

The autobot leader put an arm around her and exclaimed in a comforting tone, "It's alright to worry about her. We'll get her back as soon as possible…but we can't tonight. Megatron would be expecting us. And you need to rest anyways."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Don't argue with me."

She gave a small smile and went over to her dresser where she pulled out her pajamas and said, "I'll be right back." Aurora then went to the bathroom where she changed into her pajamas. Grabbing her brush, she returned to her room where she obtained a small backpack and put her clothes for tomorrow in it, as well as her brush. She then looked back to Optimus and said, "Okay, I'm ready to go."

He looked her over seeing she wore a baggy t-shirt and boxer shorts. Her ensemble was quite humorous, but he also thought it was cute. "You sure you'll be warm enough with that on?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," she responded, "Are there blankets and pillows down there already?"

"I'm pretty sure…if not we could always come back up here and get some."

Aurora shook her head, "Apparently you have not heard that Americans, especially this American, are very lazy."

"We can use a space gate," he explained.

"I thought Vector Prime opened those."

"He does, but he's not the only one," Optimus continued.

"I see," Aurora said putting her arm through a strap on the backpack and resting it on one shoulder, "Let's go."

"Right."

And together they walked back down to the base. Aurora couldn't figure out why Optimus wanted her to stay in his guest quarters…especially when she had quarters of her very own in the base.

* * *

Angelique sighed as she cleaned her cut up; the cut really wasn't bad, it had only bled pretty good. _"Dumb fence,"_ she thought. Turning the water off from the sink, Angelique glanced about for a towel…and found an electric hand dryer, similar to those found in bathrooms today. Using that, she dried her hands and her arm. She then glanced to her ankle. She pulled her pant leg up and saw it was a bit swollen and puffy, but she figured it'd be alright in a day or two if she stayed off it. Sighing again, Angelique walked out of the bathroom to face Megatron and whatever punishment he had in mind.

She stepped into his quarters, but she didn't see him anywhere. The door to exit his living space was only a few feet from her…if she ran fast enough she could most certainly get out of the decepticon leader's quarters and his base and find one of the autobots to protect her. Angelique took a step towards the door when suddenly a voice boomed behind her, "Where do you think you're going?"

Angelique stopped and turned to see Megatron, "Oh crap…pretend you never saw this."

"Pretend I didn't see you try to escape? Never," he exclaimed, "It's quite clear now that I cannot trust you."

"Just…what are you going to do about it?" she asked.

His right hand began to glow purple. Angelique had never seen him do this before and warily took a step back. Megatron smirked and said, "You'll very soon find out. Now, remove your shirt."

"Remove my—WHAT?!" she remarked shocked, "I don't think so."

"Don't make me take it off for you; it won't be pleasant if I do it."

Knowing this was going to be highly embarrassing, Angelique slowly took her shirt off. Her bra concealed any indecency, but she still felt partly naked. A slight chill hit her, and she crossed her arms in an effort to keep warm. Megatron ignored her and simply said, "Very good human."

Before Angelique could grasp what had happened, she suddenly found herself pinned against a wall by the decepticon leader. He smirked evilly at her before he placed his glowing hand on her chest. It took a moment for the pain to sink in, but when it did, it was all Angelique could do to keep from throwing up.

"Don't scream," he growled, "Or I'll kill you."

She grit her teeth together and bit back the scream that was dying to escape her throat. The girl felt herself wavering between consciousness and unconsciousness. Just when she was about to give in to sleep, Megatron removed his hand and released her. Angelique grabbed her shirt and ran into the bathroom without even glancing at the decepticon leader. Megatron shook his head as he watched the door close.

Angelique immediately went over to the sink where after a few long moments she managed to convince herself not to throw up. When she was finally nausea-free, she looked at her chest in the mirror. On it was a newly brandished decepticon insignia…and it was metal. She could tell from the way it shined unnaturally compared to the rest of her skin. Luckily it didn't stick up from the skin, but its deep purple color was a dead give away. Angelique groaned and went to touch it, only to send stabs of a severe burning sensation traveling from her chest through her torso. Sighing heavily, she put her shirt back on. Fortunately her shirt was light and didn't rub too much on her "tattoo." She then left the bathroom for a second time.

* * *

It wasn't long before Aurora and Optimus arrived at the appropriate quarters. They went in, and Aurora was a bit surprised by the enormity of the autobot leader's quarters. It consisted of a few rooms, those rooms being an office, bedroom, and something that resembled a living room. There was also a spare bedroom off of the main bedroom. And thankfully, the spare bed had pillows and blankets.

"Wow, are everyone's quarters like this?" Aurora questioned.

"Sadly no, being the leader of the autobots gets me a nice room like this. I personally do not think its right, but my troops insisted I stay here," Optimus explained.

"Interesting, how come you wanted me to stay here and not at my own quarters?"

"I don't want to risk you being taken by the decepticons."

Aurora nodded, that was fair. "Well thanks a lot Optimus. I'm off to bed." And she walked into the spare room only to reappear a couple seconds later to add, "Oh yeah, despite Angelique being taken, I had a lot of fun tonight."

Optimus smiled and watched as Aurora disappeared back into the spare room, the door closing behind her. He then went to bed himself, and it wasn't long before he or Aurora fell asleep.

* * *

Angelique yawned rather loudly as she walked back into Megatron's quarters. He looked at her with an annoyed expression on his face. She merely shot him a glare as she asked, "Just what is that insignia for?"

"To show proof that you are mine," the decepticon leader replied.

"Will it ever fade away or come off?" Angelique inquired hoping.

"No," he simply answered.

She sighed heavily while scratching nervously at her arm. A few moments of an odd silence passed before she said, "I'm tired."

Megatron let an agitated groan pass his lips before he replied, "You're lucky I have a spare bedroom."

Angelique's eyes widened a bit as she asked, "You have a spare quarters in your quarters? How cliché! Do you plan on inviting Starscream over for a slumber party sometime?"

Megatron turned to her and seized her by the throat, "If he cares to come over and help me torture you then I'll give him a call on my comlink, what do you say?"

Angelique could hardly breathe and simply choked out, "I'm sorry I asked."

He smirked, "Good human." And then he let her go saying, "Come with me."

Megatron then turned his back to her and Angelique proceeded to give him the naughty finger before following after him. She smiled smugly to herself because he never noticed. It was seconds before they came across the correct room. Megatron opened the door; Angelique would have never guessed there had been a door there because it looked so much like the wall…perhaps it was supposed to be hidden that way. Angelique glanced inside the room; the walls were blah but the room itself was cozy looking, especially the bed.

"I hope that satisfies you," Megatron exclaimed, "Because I'm soundproofing the room and locking you in until tomorrow night."

"Until tomorrow night? Why—

He shoved her in the room saying, "Because that's when I get done in the throne room." And he shut the door. He then locked it and soundproofed it before walking away and going to bed himself.

Angelique growled as she climbed into the bed and snuggled under the covers. She was hungry, but she couldn't eat or drink until tomorrow night. Rolling over she noticed something through the darkness.

"_Well, at least there's a bathroom,"_ she thought before falling asleep.

* * *

Yes, the bathroom is an extreme necessity. Well, it's two in the morning, me is going to bed. Please review!


	8. Can You Hear Me Now?

It's been a long time coming since I last updated this. But since it's still another about two hours before I have to go to work, I figured I'd get this updated for everybody. I'll try to get all my stories updated this weekend, though I'm not sure how much success I'm going to have because I'm going to be busy still...curse work.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Can You Hear Me Now?**

Angelique had no idea what time it was when she woke up the next morning, or if it even was morning. She didn't know how long she was lying on the bed in the dark room. Finally, after however many minutes had gone by, Angelique rolled over onto her side and felt a hard lump in her jeans pocket against the top of her thigh. _"What in the world?"_ she thought as she rolled back over onto her back and slid a hand into the pocket of her jeans. Something warm, smooth, and made of metal was in there. Angelique couldn't figure out what the heck it was until she took it out of her pocket and saw it was her cellphone.

At first it didn't register in her mind what the cellphone did, she was still half asleep. When she flipped open the phone it was then she realized the importance of the device in her hands. She sat up bolt right and exclaimed just above a whisper, "I can call Aurora."

Last night she had brought her cellphone along with her on the "date" so she could keep track of the time and so that she wouldn't drive Wing-Saber nuts constantly asking what time it was. It was sheer happenstance that she had it with her now, and it just may provide her ticket to freedom. Eagerly, Angelique pressed the on button and waited as her phone started up. She swore she felt a vain pop in her forehead when she read the two words that appeared on the screen of her cellphone: No Service.

Just what was she to do now? She knew she would be extremely ticked off if she found out that Megatron had blocked any sort of communication signals in her room. Angelique hated this predicament she was in. Despite how much she felt for her captor, she really, really, really disliked being his captive. Sure, when her sister and friends were younger and played "Princess" or whatever it was they played, she enjoyed being the damsel in distress. But now, when the situation was real, now that she was in danger, the role didn't have the glittering appeal it used to.

Angelique wasn't sure if she could just walk away and forgive Megatron for this. He had already scarred her permanently, and she wore that scar on her chest. Yet, Angelique couldn't help but feel somewhat honored though at the fact Megatron had given her a decepticon insignia to bear and showoff. No other human had received a decepticon insignia from the _real_ Megatron, just some tattoo artist had given it to them. And no human had a _real_ decepticon insignia to wear. Hers was genuine _real_ Cybertronian…the only problem with it (in her mind) was that it was in a place where everyone, transformer or human, could see it if she wasn't wearing the right kind of shirt; non-low-cut and completely opaque. She didn't want her family to see it; her family did not care for the Transformers in the least…especially her parents. Her parents completely and utterly abominated Transformers.

They scorned the fact that Angelique and Aurora spent most of their money on Transformers merchandise. Aurora owned her "toys," along with scores of Transformers DVDs, two Transformers posters, an Optimus Prime t-shirt, and a keychain with the autobot insignia on it. 

Angelique had her "toys" as well, along with a couple Megatron shirts, a poster, a necklace with the decepticon insignia, and a couple Transformers keychains. The two of them had just viewed themselves as diehard fans of the show and merely collected pieces from it. Angelique had never told her parents her complete obsession with Megatron…she didn't dare because she was afraid of what they might think, and the same was with her friends and the rest of the people she wasn't familiar with.

No, her life wasn't over, but it kind of felt like it. Angelique knew she didn't have to worry because it was going to be a couple weeks before her parents would be coming home from their vacation, but what would happen when they did come home?

"Oh hi mom, dad! I've missed you guys so much, look; I've got to tell you something. You know those Transformers toys Aurora and I have? Well, they're not toys anymore; believe it or not they came to life! They are living in a base in our gully, and you don't have to worry about them, they behave quite well, with the exception of Megatron, but I'll tell you about him later…"

Yeah right, that sounded just as convincing as Angelique saying the family had won the Mega-Millions lottery, particularly because no one in the family, at least no one that Angelique knew of, bought lottery tickets.

Angelique sighed shoving her cellphone back into her pocket and getting up from the bed to use the bathroom…life just _had_ to be complicated.

* * *

Aurora woke up the next morning feeling very well rested. When she opened her eyes, it took her a few moments to remember where she was. When she did remember, she bolted from the bed, grabbed her backpack, and went in the bathroom where she got dressed and took care of her hygiene. When she finished, she emerged from the bathroom, her pajamas packed neatly in her backpack, and walked into Optimus's room.

The autobot leader was already awake and sitting at his desk typing on his computer. He glanced over at Aurora as she emerged from her room and said to her in a welcoming and friendly voice, "Good morning Aurora, you sleep well?"

Aurora smiled, "You bet Optimus. I'm going to run up to the house and get something to eat."

"Alright," Optimus responded, "Keep an eye out for the decepticons. I really don't want to see Megatron take you either."

"He'd have no use to me," Aurora replied, "But I'll be back." And she left the room.

Aurora was only a few feet away from Optimus's room when suddenly Wing-Saber came up beside her and inquired, "Did you find out anything more about Angelique?"

"Yeah, we know for a fact that Megatron has her," she answered and proceeded to tell the whole energon in the window incident.

Wing-Saber made tight fists with his hands and proceeded to say, "The dirty rotten liar…we've got to get Angelique back tonight."

"How?"

"Since I didn't get an ounce of recharge last night, I had plenty of time to think about it."

"You must really like Angelique if you lost sleep over her like that," Aurora mused.

"I just don't want Megatron to hurt her," Wing-Saber explained, "Besides, she's my responsibility."

"Are you looking forward to getting her back?"

"Oh yes, we've still got to go on a date of our own…and I'm not telling you when either, I won't risk having you and Optimus ruining it," Wing-Saber elucidated.

Aurora smiled, "Thanks for crushing my plans. Now, what was that plan of yours to getting Angelique back?"

"We catch Megatron alone in his quarters tonight like we did last night and we _make_ him hand over Angelique. We know for a fact that she's there now, all we have to do is torture him until he gives us the information we want."

Aurora chuckled at the idea of the autobots torturing the leader of the decepticons, it was just something she didn't see happening. And even if Megatron were tortured, she didn't see him giving away any secrets either. "I don't think torture will work," she spoke.

"No, probably not," he mused, "But I'd still enjoy it."

Aurora shook her head, "We'll have to discuss this with Optimus. We just got to keep this on the down low; we cannot afford having the decepticons catch wind of this, especially Megatron. We don't even know where for sure he's keeping her."

"It'd be nice if she contacted us, that is if she could contact us," Wing-Saber remarked.

Aurora snapped her fingers, "She might have her cellphone with her, I should get mine and turn it on incase she tries to call."

"Can't you call her?"

"Didn't you hear me when I said we have to keep this on the down low? Just what will Megatron think if he hears her phone ring?"

"Good point," he stated, "Now, I'm going to go talk to Optimus about this. Is he free right now?"

"Yes."

The autobot grinned, "I knew you were in his quarters this morning. What were you two doing?"

Aurora tried to fight back a blush but failed. "Nothing, we weren't doing anything," she tried to explain.

"Sure you weren't; now like I said I'm going to go talk to the big bot. I'll catch you later, Aurora."

Aurora watched as he walked off towards Optimus's room. She sighed and headed towards the base. Aurora really didn't want anything circulating around her and Optimus. She wanted everything kept quiet, because that's the kind of personality she had. Nothing was official between her and the autobot leader, yes they had been on a date and they had already made plans for another, but still, they weren't more than just friends…and Aurora kind of felt that they never would be. It wouldn't make sense, at least it didn't in her mind anyway, for two different species to be in love, and there wasn't any reason for Optimus to believe it made sense either.

But then…why had he asked her on the date in the first place? And just why did he try so hard to make sure she had a good time? And why was he so protective of her? Unless…unless he thought that it was possible that a human and a transformer could be together.

The girl quickly shook her head as she rode the elevator out of the base and into the gully and started walking up to the house. She had seen episodes in Generation 1 where transformers and humans had fallen in love; there was Powerglide and Astoria, and Seaspray and Allana. And Aurora knew that transformers could fall in love…Optimus had Elita, though the girl was not positive what happened between those two, whether Elita had died or not. There was Ironhide and Chromia, hints of Arcee with either Rodimus Prime or Springer, there was Silverbolt and Blackarachnia, Tigertron and Airrazor, there were hints of Starscream and Alexis, hints of Lori and Scourge, heck there were even hints of Megatron with either Nightbird or Thunderblast…but Aurora really didn't see the decepticon leader with either of the two.

"_Megatron and Angelique would go good together,"_ she mused to herself, _"There's just something about her and Wing-Saber that doesn't…click."_

Despite the fact Aurora despised Megatron, she wanted her sister to have what she wanted, and if she wanted Megatron, then so be it. She just couldn't help but feel that both Wing-Saber and Angelique were wasting their time together…that someone else had something planned for them.

She shook her head realizing she was thinking a little too much this morning and it was getting her depressed, and being depressed during the summer was the last thing she wanted to do. Instead, she tried to think of how she could get her sister back and what to do incase Wing-Saber's plan did not work. Before she knew it though, Aurora was already up in her house and eating breakfast.

* * *

Angelique sat in her room as bored as could be and trying to figure out what to do to pass the day away. She didn't have her Fast Food Nation book with her and she had already walked around the entire place trying to get a signal on her phone, but to no avail. Besides the fact of being bored to death, Angelique was really hungry and thirsty, and she refused to drink out of the toilet. She had tried the water from the sink but it tasted terrible and left an equally terrible taste in her mouth afterwards. Sighing, Angelique figured she could do nothing other than sleep until Megatron came…or wait until a signal came on her phone, which she doubted would happen.

"I guess it's just me and the room today," she sighed as she laid down on the bed.

* * *

When Aurora finished her breakfast, she took care of the dishes and then grabbed her cellphone. Aurora then went back down to the base to meet with Wing-Saber or Optimus, or both of them. When she got back in the base, she turned her cellphone on, happy to see she had full reception. She hoped her sister would too if she had her cellphone with her. Abandoning the thought though, Aurora headed to Optimus's quarters to see if he was still there. When she got there, she was just about to knock on his door when it opened revealing Wing-Saber.

The bot grinned, "Optimus just sent me to get you. Come on in Aurora."

He stepped aside and Aurora walked in asking, "So what's going on?"

"Wing-Saber and I were discussing a plan of rescue for your sister…though Wing-Saber told you he didn't want to do it until tonight; we're going to do it right now."

Aurora was highly satisfied with Optimus's expediency and said, "Awesome."

"This is how it's going to go though; we're going to offline Thundercracker in order to get by him. Since Megatron will probably be in his throne room and not his quarters, we'll be able to look around easier for Angelique or any clues to her whereabouts."

"Optimus," Aurora remarked dreading to ask this, "What happens if we don't find Angelique?"

"We'll worry about that if the situation presents itself. Now, are you two ready to carry through with this?" Optimus asked.

"I'm more than ready," Wing-Saber answered and Aurora nodded.

"Alright," said the autobot leader, "Let's roll."

* * *

Thundercracker realized that if Megatron made him do guard duty everyday that he would eventually die of boredom. He was just about to polish his gun for the second time that morning when he spotted three figures approaching him. He got a dismal look on his face when he saw that they were none other than Optimus, Aurora, and Wing-Saber.

"Look," said the decepticon when the three were in hearing range, "Megatron gave me specific orders this morning not to let you three into—

Wing-Saber punched him in the face immediately silencing the poor decepticon and sending him into a momentary realm of darkness. Optimus, Aurora, and Wing-Saber proceeded into the decepticon territory towards Megatron's quarters.

* * *

Megatron walked into his quarters planning on doing reports and paperwork in the silence of his room and not the annoying presence of his troops. Of course he knew that Angelique was in his room, he just had no intention of letting her out of the hidden room until tonight like he had told her.

The decepticon leader had just stepped inside his office when he heard the door to his room hiss open and shut. "What in the name of Primus," he exclaimed under his breath as he left his office to see what was going on. He only found Aurora, Optimus, and Wing-Saber, standing in his quarters. Angered, Megatron crossed his arms and asked, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"You being here was not part of the plan, I assure you," Aurora spoke up, "We've only come for Angelique."

"I told you I don't have her," Megatron replied, "So leave."

"Last night we found Angelique's blood and _your_ fresh energon in the window of Aurora's room after we had just been up there and left the house in order. Do you care to explain?" Optimus asked.

"Explain? What are you talking about?" Megatron posed trying to think just how he had left any energon behind.

"Quit playing _dumb_ and just give back Angelique!"

"I can't give her back if I don't have her!"

To Optimus, Wing-Saber, and Aurora this charade being put on by the decepticon leader was getting quite annoying.

* * *

Angelique sighed and sat back up on her bed. She had no idea what was currently taking place outside her room as she took out her cellphone and stared at it. Suddenly she had an epiphany. At school one time, they had had a study hall during jazz band and Angelique and her friend had just been hanging out in the band room. Her friend couldn't get any reception on her cellphone, so trying anything she possibly could, her friend had held up her cellphone to Angelique's head in hopes to get at least a bar of reception, and she got just that. Holding the phone to her head, Angelique waited a couple moments and then looked back at her phone…she had two bars of reception.

"Yes!" she exclaimed excited, "My brain power has increased since then!" She then proceeded to call Aurora.

* * *

Aurora sighed impatiently as the three transformers around her continued to argue. Finally she spoke up, "Megatron! It won't kill you to just let my sister go!"

He was just about to speak when her phone vibrated in her pocket. "Hold that thought," Aurora exclaimed as she took out her phone, "Hello?"

Optimus, Wing-Saber, and Megatron exchanged looks.

"Angelique?! Wait…wait a second, let me put you on speaker phone," Aurora pressed a couple buttons and then asked, "Alright, where are you?"

"Ask Megatron," was all she said.

Two eyes and four optics fell upon Megatron as he crossed his arms, obviously angry realizing he had just been caught.

"Where's Megatron keeping you?" Aurora asked.

"In some room behind his office, the door blends into the wall; it's a little hard to find…um…where are you?"

"Closer than you think," Aurora replied and gestured to Megatron to show them where the room was.

Megatron wasn't going to until both Optimus and Wing-Saber held up their guns. Wary of the threat, Megatron took them to the room.

"Are you alright?" Aurora asked.

"Just peachy…actually I'm hungry and thirsty."

"We'll take care of that. Megatron didn't hurt you did he?"

"Oh no…he was just…swell."

Megatron snorted hearing that and opened the door to the room causing Angelique to jump. She looked from Megatron, to Aurora, to Optimus, and finally to Wing-Saber and said, "Okay this is awkward. I'm hanging up now."

Both Aurora and Angelique hung up and Angelique exited the room. She went over to Wing-Saber and let him put an arm around her as she exclaimed, "Thank you guys for saving my butt again…and I'm guessing I'll see you around Megs."

The decepticon leader shot her a glare and she quickly stated, "Okay, I'm leaving now."

And she, Aurora, Optimus, and Wing-Saber left. Aurora, Optimus, and Wing-Saber were all relieved and glad to have Angelique back safe and sound, and Angelique was glad to be back.

They just hoped Megatron didn't have anything else in store.

* * *

Sucky ending I know...I wasn't quite sure how to end this chapter...so it kinda just cuts off. Anyhow, reviews are welcomed and appreciated please...thankies!


	9. Breach of Confidence

Yay for summer break and for time!! I should probably stop into school sometime though to get my summer homework for AP English...oh well that can wait. Moving on, here's chapter 9 FINALLY. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Breach of Confidence**

A few days passed by since Angelique was rescued by Aurora, Wing-Saber, and Optimus. Nothing much had happened in those few days other than the decepticons going completely out of sight. They had withdrawn inside their base for unknown circumstances. Optimus Prime and the other autobots suspected they were planning something, thus they remained on high alert incase of an attack. The decepticons couldn't be trusted, even in times of peace. Everyone was still too used to the war.

Over the last few days though, Angelique and Wing-Saber had gotten considerably closer. They had gone on a date of their own, uninterrupted by anyone or anything because they had kept it hush, hush. The date hadn't been anything spectacular either. Wing-Saber had just taken Angelique bowling and then they watched a couple movies together. Sure it hadn't been much of a date, but it's the little things that count and the two of them had really enjoyed the other's company. Angelique had realized that Wing-Saber was a lot more than just a person to have fun with. He was one of those guys who were hard to get and now that she had him, Angelique knew she couldn't let him go. It was still too soon for her to say she loved him, but she certainly was thinking about him a lot more than what she first had…and slowly, very slowly, thoughts of Megatron were beginning to leave her head.

Optimus and Aurora had gotten a lot closer to each other as well. They spent most of their days together. Aurora was beginning to notice that her summer homework wasn't getting done and Optimus was noticing the same about his paperwork. They still hadn't gone on a second date yet, but that was okay. Both of them still had their time, and Aurora insisted on the double date with Angelique and Wing-Saber, though Optimus wasn't quite sure why. He had no objection to it though. A date with Wing-Saber and Angelique would definitely prove to be interesting…very interesting.

It was Tuesday, a full week since Aurora and Angelique had woken up to find their Transformers toys alive…and no longer plastic action figures. Aurora was in Optimus's office, as usual, she spent a lot of her time with him there. Angelique was in the hangout, or so Aurora thought. She wasn't too concerned though since it was quite apparent Megatron had lost interest in her altogether and realized that she wasn't worth his time or trouble. And Aurora was grateful for that.

* * *

Angelique stood outside the entrance to the decepticon section of the base. Wing-Saber was working and she was bored and didn't want to do her homework. Instead, she just stood gazing in, wondering if she should go inside or not. Angelique clenched a fist and held it to her chest. She hadn't told anyone that Megatron had marked her with his emblem…she hadn't shown anyone either. And she had her reasons for not wanting to tell or show anyone…they would be mad at Megatron and they would be mad at her. All of her friends were autobots, of course they wouldn't approve of it. Her sister was dating the leader of the autobots, neither of them would approve. Her boyfriend was an autobot; there was no chance of him approving either.

"Thundercracker?" Angelique asked softly.

He stepped out from the shadows, "What is it human?"

"Yay!" she exclaimed running up to him and gave him a hug, "You are here."

"Just…what do you want?" the decepticon asked surprised that the human had hugged him.

"Where have you guys been and what have you been up to?"

"Nothing much…"

"Let's go see Megatron."

"Angelique, I'm not allowed to leave my post."

"I give you permission to then. If Megatron has a problem with it, he can talk to me."

"Alright…but he doesn't want any humans in the base either," Thundercracker warned.

"I think I'll be alright," Angelique expressed, "Come on, let's go."

And the two of them headed inside the decepticon section of the base. They walked down a couple of hallways in silence and then Angelique asked randomly, "Hey Thundercracker, do you like Thunderblast?"

The question caught him completely off guard and his cheeks flushed giving him away, "Y-Yes, I suppose I do," he stammered.

"So, why don't you ask her on a date?"

"She's been hanging around with Megatron a lot lately."

Angelique felt jealousy prick through her veins, "What do you mean?"

"They've just been spending more time together and getting along," Thundercracker explained.

Angelique knew she had to get Thunderblast off of and away from Megatron. She knew it would kill her heart if Megatron stooped low enough to date a slut and not a human. The girl mentally kicked herself before thinking, _"No, you shouldn't interfere, you have Wing-Saber, you have Wing-Saber. Unless…"_ Of course, she could always do this for Thundercracker's benefit. She had always thought Thundercracker and Thunderblast made a good couple…this had to work.

"Well then, let's go find—

Angelique was cut short when Megatron and Thunderblast rounded the corner in front of her and Thundercracker. The blue 'con quickly saluted saying, "Megatron sir...Thunderblast." He then returned his hand to his side.

Megatron's optics completely skipped over Thundercracker and landed on Angelique. He smirked, "Human, what are you doing here?"

"Just seeing what you guys have been up to," she answered heart beating faster.

The decepticon leader then looked over to Thundercracker, "What are you doing away from your post?"

"I made him come with me," Angelique spoke quickly, "Give him a break…er…not literally though."

Megatron eyed her for a moment before saying, "Thundercracker, return to your post immediately and take this filth back with you."

Angelique crossed her arms, "Filth? At least I'm not dating a wench."

"Wench?!" Thunderblast remarked appalled.

"We're not dating!" Megatron growled defensively.

"Then what are you two doing?" Angelique persisted.

Megatron didn't say anything and the girl smirked, "Yup, that's what I thought. Let's go Thundercracker; Thunderblast and Megahorny want their time together."

"You're dead human!" came Megatron's peeved voice.

"That's my cue to exit," Angelique remarked and took off running back to the autobot section of the base.

Megatron tore after her. Thundercracker and Thunderblast exchanged glances before they blue 'con said, "Just for the record, Angelique had no right to call you a wench."

Thunderblast sighed heavily, "It's not the first time I've been called that…and probably not the last."

Thundercracker shook his head, "Well, that's something I'll never call you. Now where were you headed? I'll walk you there."

Thunderblast shook her head, "No, it's alright."

"If you say so, I'll head back to my post then."

Thunderblast watched as he started walking away and then called out, "Thundercracker, wait!"

He turned to her, "Yes?"

"Would you like some company? I mean, you spend an awful lot of time alone."

"I would really appreciate that," he replied smiling.

Thunderblast nodded and the two of them headed back to his post together.

* * *

Angelique ran into the autobot section of the base a few paces ahead of Megatron. She headed directly towards Optimus's office only because she knew that Aurora and Optimus would be there and she could certainly use some help to get Megatron…a _very_ angry Megatron off her tail. The girl turned a couple corners before she came across the door to Optimus's office and pounded on it saying, "Let me in, let me in!"

* * *

Both Aurora and Optimus looked to the door when they head Angelique's plea. They exchanged suspicious glances before Aurora got up and answered the door…only no one was there. She peaked outside just in time to see Megatron pin Angelique to the wall. He went to punch her when Aurora cried out, "Megatron, don't you dare!"

Megatron grumbled and looked to Aurora. Optimus quickly got up from his desk and stepped into the hall where he saw Megatron had Angelique. "Megatron, unhand her now!"

"Not this again," Megatron simply said opening a dimension gate. He threw Angelique into the dimension gate before he went through himself.

The gate was still open and Optimus charged at it. "Go find Wing-Saber and have him radio me," Optimus called before disappearing through the gate nanoseconds before it closed.

Aurora quickly went off to find Wing-Saber. She ran down a series of halls before she came across his room. She knocked on the door and then opened it…he wasn't inside. He had to be in the command center. Aurora quickly headed for it.

* * *

Thunderblast stood with Thundercracker at his post. She hadn't been there five minutes before she inquired, "How do you do this day after day?"

"It's not easy…it's a lot more enjoyable though when you're here," he replied.

The femme felt her cheeks flush. She had never really cared about Thundercracker…but maybe she had been wrong about him. Maybe she could give him a chance.

* * *

Megatron was just about to punch Angelique again when Optimus came out of nowhere and tackled him. Angelique stood there, unsure who to root for. The decepticon leader had taken the fight outside; literally, the three of them were out in the gully. She watched as Optimus and Megatron began trading blows…and it sent fear running through Angelique.

"Guys, guys!" she exclaimed capturing their attention, "Stop this! You have an alliance."

Megatron glared at her, "Slag the alliance."

* * *

Aurora was nearly out of breath by the time she stumbled upon Wing-Saber, just as he was coming out of the command center.

"Oh hey Aurora, what's up?" he asked.

"Megatron has Angelique again," she stated, "Optimus went after Megatron, he needs you to radio him."

Wing-Saber didn't hesitate and immediately tuned his comlink to Optimus's. When he had the correct channel he spoke into it, "Optimus this is Wing-Saber, where are you?"

"I'm outside the base," replied the autobot leader.

"Alright, I'll be there in a second, Wing-Saber out," and he ended the transmission.

Aurora looked to the autobot before saying, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"You're not the only one," he replied and the two of them headed for the exit of the base.

* * *

Angelique groaned as she watched Megatron and Optimus continue to trade blows and insults. This had been all her fault, all she had been trying to do was hook Thundercracker up with Thunderblast…and she knew deep down inside it was so she could free up Megatron. She felt like she had betrayed everybody…especially Wing-Saber. It was high time she did something right for once. Angelique was just about to intervene when suddenly Wing-Saber and Aurora emerged from the base. _"Oh…just great,"_ she thought not wanting to do this in front of Wing-Saber.

The autobot was at her side, along with Aurora, almost immediately. He took her in his arms before asking concerned, "Are you alright? Megatron will die if he hurt you."

"I'm fine, really."

Aurora crossed her arms, "Good, but now that we've got that established; just what did you do to provoke Megatron this time?"

"I'll tell you in a minute, just let me fix this mess," Angelique said but Wing-Saber didn't let her go.

"I hope you're not planning on breaking them up," Wing-Saber remarked referring to Optimus and Megatron.

Angelique smirked, "I didn't know they were dating."

Aurora groaned angrily, "Remind me to give you a good smack once all this is over."

"I'll be right back," Angelique responded and left Wing-Saber's embrace. She moved closer to the fighting leaders and when she was a few feet away from them she said loudly, "Alright you two stop this nonsense for a minute and listen to me."

Megatron and Optimus hesitated for a moment before they stopped fighting and turned to Angelique. Megatron crossed his arms, "Just what is it you have to say now _human_?"

She sighed heavily before answering, "Okay…the only reason why I called you Megahorny was so that you _would_ come after me and leaver Thundercracker and Thunderblast alone together."

Optimus raised an optic ridge, "Is someone trying to play matchmaker?"

Angelique felt her cheeks flush, "I won't call you that name anymore, I swear. It's just that Thundercracker had told me…he liked Thunderblast…I was just trying to help him. I'm sorry."

Megatron snorted but didn't say anything. Angelique blinked a couple times before asking, "Is the alliance still safe?"

"For now," Megatron answered, "But you aren't."

"What—

And the decepticon leader seized her by the shirt collar before asking with a bitterly amused look on his face, "Have you shown them yet?"

"Sh-Shown them?" she stuttered.

"This," he replied maliciously as he stabbed a finger into her chest.

Angelique hesitated for a moment. If she said no, then she figured Megatron would reveal her. If she said yes, he'd probably confirm if she really had or not. There was no use in denying it…and she finally responded, "No."

"Show us what?" Aurora questioned as she and Wing-Saber came over.

"This," Megatron simply remarked ripping Angelique's shirt a bit to reveal the decepticon insignia hidden beneath and branded on the girl's flesh.

Angelique heard the gasps and quickly shoved Megatron's hands away before she placed a hand over her chest and glared at him. "You're a butthead!" she yelled, "I'd call you worse but I'm a lady and my parents raised me not to swear."

"And yet you called him Mega-you-know-what," Aurora spoke up, "Look, we'll discuss this later—

"No, we'll discuss this now," Wing-Saber piped up, anger evident in his voice, "Just how long did you have that…that _abomination_ on your chest?"

"Abomination?! Pft, the _autobot_ symbol is an _abomination_!"

Nearly everyone, with the exception of Aurora, was surprised to hear this come out of her mouth. Wing-Saber glared at his girlfriend, "Just how long have you sympathized with _them_?"

"Since the beginning…five _years_ ago."

"That would explain your pathetic crush then…I thought you were over him!"

Aurora's eyes widened, "Wing-Saber shut up! You promised you wouldn't tell."

"Aurora, you told?! Just who all did you tell?" demanded Angelique.

"Just Wing-Saber…and Jetfire…and Optimus," responded Aurora as innocently as possible.

Megatron had no idea what they were talking about and his curiosity got the best of him as he leaned over in Optimus's direction and asked, "Who are they talking about?"

He asked loud enough for everyone to hear and Wing-Saber shot him an annoyed look, "We're talking about y—

Angelique tackled him to the ground hissing loudly, "Shut up!"

Wing-Saber gave her a look of death and pushed her off him. They both stood and Wing-Saber seized Angelique by the wrist. "If you want him so bad, then take him!" And he shoved her harshly into Megatron. He then disappeared back inside the base.

Angelique growled, "Him and I are _so_ over!"

Megatron decided to taunt her a bit. He traced a finger up her spine before he asked whispering quietly in her ear with faked passion, "Was this whole conversation about me?"

Angelique felt her heart nearly stop beating and she jumped and looked at the decepticon leader, unable to hide a slight blush, "No, of course not!"

"You can expect to see me around, human," Megatron stated before walking away and going back in the base.

"Well, that was tense," Aurora piped up and took a startled step back when Angelique suddenly plopped down on the ground crying. Aurora sighed heavily, "Oh great, cry baby unleashed."

Optimus bit back a chuckle as Angelique cried, "Wing-Saber and I are over and Megatron knows I like him now!"

Aurora slightly groaned, "First of all Angelique, you're only allowed to date one guy at a time. Secondly, it's not the end of the world."

"Yes it is!"

"Angelique," spoke Optimus finally, "Get a grip on yourself. I'll talk to Wing-Saber, he needs talking to after what he said and did to you…once he cools down a bit you two should be fine."

Angelique sniffled and wiped her eyes, "Tell him I'm willing to apologize."

Optimus nodded, "Just one thing though, did you willingly accept the decepticon insignia?"

"Hell no. When Megatron had me a few days ago he told me to take off my shirt or else basically. Not wanting to deal with the or else, I took it off and presto, decepticon insignia," Angelique elucidated.

"Just why did you keep it a secret from us though" questioned Aurora.

"Because I had a feeling something like this would happen."

Aurora realized she had a point there, along with Optimus, and the two of them disappeared inside the base after reassuring Angelique that they would talk to Wing-Saber.

Angelique sighed heavily before going up to the house to get her Fast Food Nation book and then went back down to the hangout of the base to read it.

* * *

Megatron walked towards his section of the base thinking of how Angelique had caused all this creative nonsense to bring Thundercracker and Thunderblast together. He wondered if it had worked, though he highly doubted it. Megatron was not into romance, he despised love completely and bitterly. There was no use for it; it only caused pain, like he had observed with the whole skirmish between Wing-Saber and Angelique a few minutes ago. He did understand though that relationships needed to be built. And he knew that took times ranging from days to weeks to months to years. Love was complicated and Megatron was utterly glad that it was something he could not feel.

As Megatron walked into the decepticon section of the base though, he heard something coming from Thundercracker's post. Glancing over he saw the seeker and the boat engaged in a rather passionate exchange of saliva. _"Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck!" _Megatron thought as he hurried away from the two knowing he was going to have that image stuck in his head for awhile now.

He then shook his head thinking, _"What do you know…that blasted girl's plan __**did**__ work."_

There, another chapter down and tons more to come...XD Please review! Cookies to everyone who does review, and milk too for those cookies.

* * *


	10. Prove Your Worth

Well sorry about the wait on this chapter, it took me forever to type it since it was so long...and I was kind of lazy about getting it done too. But here it is now, 6848 words long, a little too long, you'll just have more to read. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 10: Prove Your Worth**

Wing-Saber had stormed back into the base, obviously angry. He went straight to his quarters where he slammed the door shut and slumped down in a chair in his room. Oh, he was so livid. He wasn't sure if he had ever been this angry in his life. To find out his girlfriend, the person he obviously cared about the most was crushing on someone who _wasn't _him. He just didn't know how to forgive that. The autobot was thinking highly of breaking up with her, just because he felt she was unfaithful. She had the decepticon insignia and she hadn't even bothered to tell him about it.

But he had known before he asked her to be his girlfriend that she did like the bad guys and that she did have a severely bad crush on Megatron, one that wouldn't be erased from his relationship with her. Perhaps she was capable of loving someone else even though she preferred somebody else. Whatever it was, Angelique had for the most part stayed true to him. He knew she was a good girl and that her parents had raised her very well, he just wasn't sure if she could stay true, especially if Megatron started to woo her at all.

Though it was unlike Megatron to woo anybody. That just wasn't his style, he didn't seek the affection of anybody, all he wanted was war, destruction, death, and the universe at his feet. He wouldn't give up anything for a woman, especially for a human woman, particularly when he wanted everything for himself.

He knew she deserved a second chance since he had overreacted just a little. She hadn't done anything violent towards him, other than tackle him when he almost told Megatron that her crush was on him. But he had shoved her away and into the leader of the decepticons, a person who could've potentially inflicted more harm upon her if given the opportunity. He sighed heavily, needing to talk to his girlfriend and set things right with her. They just needed to talk, to see where this relationship was going…to see if it was going anywhere or would go anywhere. Just as he was about to get out of the chair he was sitting in there was a knock at the door of his quarters.

"Enter," he said in reply to the knock.

The door hissed open, revealing Optimus. The autobot leader stepped into the room saying, "I'll be forthright Wing-Saber, your actions towards Angelique were unacceptable."

Wing-Saber sighed, "I know sir. I was just about to find her and apologize."

"I believe she is in the hangout reading that book of hers. I'll leave you alone now, just be nice to her."

Wing-Saber nodded and watched as his commander left his quarters thinking, _"He must think I'm breaking up with her."_ The autobot shook his head and then proceeded to exit his quarters, heading in the direction of the hangout.

* * *

Aurora entered her room in the autobot base wanting to use the computer but after thinking about it she decided that she would read her AP Biology book instead because that was what she needed to get done. She entered the room and turned on the light before going over to her desk where the book was and plopping down on her bed to read it. She had just gotten through one page when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Closing the book she set it aside and got up from the bed. Aurora walked over to the door and opened it, revealing Optimus standing there. "Oh hey Optimus," she stated greeting him, "What's up?"

"Just the ceiling," Optimus replied, "Are you busy?"

"Nope."

"Then perhaps you will accompany me on a date?"

She smirked, "What about that double date with—

"Ah, we'll count this as our third date then. We'll have to see what happens between Wing-Saber and Angelique first."

"Alright…but just what do you got in mind?"

"Let's you and I get out of the base for a little while, you know, for a drive around town. Except I'll be doing the driving."

"I hope so because I'm still working on getting my license," replied Aurora, "When did you want to go?"

"Right now…if you didn't mind," Optimus stated.

Aurora glanced over to the clock that was in her room and saw that it was just past two in the afternoon. "Okay," she remarked, "Let's skedaddle."

Suddenly she remembered something, "Wait, you transform into a fire engine though."

"Yes, so?"

"So don't you think you'll kind of stick out?"

"I'll just be a fire engine on parade I guess," Optimus answered, "Come on let's go."

Aurora shrugged giving into the autobot leader. He obviously wasn't worried, so she figured she wouldn't have any reason to be worried either. Yet deep down inside she couldn't stop a knot of worry from building. Whether it was female intuition or not, she had a feeling that something was bound to go wrong at some point while she and Optimus went on this date. And if something were to happen, which she felt would, she only hoped that it wouldn't be too bad.

They slipped out of the base together and walked up to the house. When they got there, they stepped into the garage and Aurora opened the garage door as Optimus transformed into his fire engine mode. After opening the door, she walked over to the autobot leader and he opened his door. Aurora climbed in and the door closed. The autobot leader proceeded to pull out of the garage and onto the road where he turned and headed into the town. The girl clicked her seatbelt over her and asked, "I have a feeling you have no idea where you're going."

"Actually I do, thanks to the satellite technology via the internet."

"Oh…right. I knew that."

Optimus chuckled and then Aurora suddenly thought of something, "Hey Optimus, do you think we're alright leaving Angelique back at the base?"

"Yes."

"But, what if Megatron comes after her? He said he'd be seeing her around."

"Wing-Saber will protect her."

"Unless they break up," Aurora commented.

Optimus sighed, "What happens between them is up to them. If you want my honest opinion though, I think even if they agree to stay together, it's going to be hard for them."

"Why?"

"They have so many differences."

"They say opposites do attract."

"But the only opposites between them are species and faction. I think the only common interest they share is a sense of humor."

"And with Megatron constantly interfering Wing-Saber might start getting ideas."

"Possibly. Even if Megatron knows of Angelique's high interest in him I doubt he'd care about it. He is more than likely to use it against her, a new form of torture."

"He is so evil."

"That's Megatron for you."

"And to think you're brothers in the movie," she murmured.

"Brothers?"

"Never mind."

Optimus didn't say anything as he drove through the town. Aurora pointed out various things to him, like the school, the fire station, various stores, the movie theater, and other places. Optimus spotted a group of kids walking together, they were dressed in black and the autobot leader couldn't help but to ask, "Are there gangs in this town?"

"Oh no, there used to be one, the Coffee Street Gang, but all they ever did was walk up and down the street at night smoking."

"What happened to them?"

"I don't know. They just fizzled out."

"Oh. Well, that's good. I don't want anybody coming after you."

Aurora felt her cheeks redden slightly and looked out the windshield as Optimus came upon the intersection. The light turned red but he failed to notice and drove through the red light…however the police officer parked close to the corner noticed him. Aurora nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the police siren behind them. She glanced at the rearview mirror only to see the police car with its lights flashing and siren going.

"Oh crap," she exclaimed under her breath.

"I'll lose him," Optimus stated.

"But Optimus, it's against the law—

She stopped her protesting when the autobot leader suddenly sped up and she was pressed back against the seat. _"Oh yeah,"_ she thought, _"I was totally right when I knew something bad was going to happen."_

* * *

Angelique sighed as she finished reading a chapter in her book. Setting it aside, she stretched and then started looking around for the television remote. She was just about to give up searching for it when a voice suddenly called out, "Knock, knock."

Angelique looked over to the doorway, "Oh, hey Wing-Saber."

He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, the shadows glinting off his figure, "May I come in?"

"What's the magic word?"

He smirked, "Please?"

"You may enter."

The autobot uncrossed his arms and walked over to the couch where he took a seat. He then sighed heavily saying, "Let's talk."

Angelique glanced down at her hands as she leaned back against the couch. The first words out of her mouth were, "I'm sorry."

"No I don't want to exchange apologies right now. I want to talk about _us_."

"Oh," she replied still not looking at him.

"Look, a lot happened today…we need to figure out if we're going to work or not."

Angelique sighed, "Okay…" She didn't know what else to say.

Wing-Saber waited for her to say something more but when she didn't he asked, "Just what do you think of me?"

She closed her eyes, sighing once again. After a few moments she replied, "You're a really good guy and you're a lot of fun to be with. I really like you…I just haven't reached the point where I can say I love you yet."

"And what about Megatron?"

"What does Megatron have to do with us?"

"Just answer the question."

"Well…I like him too; I just don't think I have any sort of chance with him."

"But what if a chance was presented to you? Who would you choose? Him…or me?"

And for the first time she looked at him, shooting him a glare, obviously angry, "Just who are you to be asking something like that when we've only been together for just over a week? Think about it Wing-Saber, I've adored him for five _years_ compared to your seven or so _days_."

Wing-Saber returned the glare, "But you yourself just said you didn't stand a chance with him."

Angelique rolled her eyes, "Not long ago I didn't stand a chance with _any_ of you transformers."

Wing-Saber sighed heavily. He had not intended on getting into an argument with her like this. Finally he said, "Alright, let's start this talk over."

"If it counts for anything," Angelique stated, "I really do like being with you…and I don't want to let this go…because I…" She trailed off.

"Go on," Wing-Saber said softly.

"I was starting to…forget him."

Wing-Saber grinned, "Then I _was_ having an impact on you."

"Yes you were, and I really hope that you are still willing to."

"Well then, it shouldn't be long until Megatron is out of your heart and head."

"It'll take time Wing-Saber," she added strictly.

"But I will still have your affections."

Angelique nodded, "So…are we still together?"

"Yes, and now I'll take the time to apologize for my despicable behavior from earlier."

"You're forgiven. I just need you to forgive me for my own mistake."

"Anything for you babe," he replied before asking in a low voice, "Now shall we make as Sir Lancelot and the fair princess and go find Aurora and Optimus so we can share with them our tidings of great joy?"

Angelique chuckled, "Later, they're probably busy doing stuff themselves."

"I don't want to know."

The girl shook her head before saying, "I need to get back to reading this craptacular book."

"And I should return to my duties. Until we meet again my dearest!" And he kissed her cheek before leaving the hangout.

Angelique was just left shaking her head as she pulled her book back out.

* * *

Aurora glanced to the rearview mirror once again only to see the police officer was still following close behind them. She sighed, "I really hope that isn't Barricade."

"Who?"

"Never mind."

"Aurora, could you get out of view?"

"Get out of view? What do you mean?"

"Just get down so that no one can see you through the windows. I don't want people to think that you were driving me when you're not."

Aurora proceeded to undo her seatbelt and lie down in the seat. Out of all the transformers, Optimus was the last of all them that she expected would get her into this type of situation. She thought back to the cartoon and to how he respected human laws. Now here was breaking them, even if it was by accident and if it was for her protection. All of a sudden she remembered something, "Optimus, can't you fly?"

"Thank you Aurora," he remarked as he activated his flight system and took to the skies leaving anyone who had been watching them baffled, especially the police officer.

Once among the clouds, Aurora sat back up and quickly put her seatbelt back on. She then gazed out the windows, admiring the view of her town before asking, "So, just how are we going to get back to the base?"

"Who said we're going back to the base yet?"

"What more could you possibly have in mind?"

He chuckled, "I reassure you Aurora, running that red light and being chased by a cop was not part of my original plans."

"And what was?"

"Ah, you'll see when the time comes."

She drummed her fingers annoyed on the steering wheel, "You like to torture me with suspense, don't you?"

"I'm an autobot, I don't believe in torture."

"Ah, you butthead."

He snickered.

* * *

Angelique yawned knowing it was late as she finished reading another chapter of the book. She had spent the entire afternoon just about reading it and now she was a little past halfway. Looking at the clock she saw it was nearly seven o'clock and she was so surprised her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "It can't be that late," she thought out loud, "Oh well…I wonder what Aurora's up to."

Her stomach growled suddenly, "But first let's get you taken care of." And she proceeded to the bar. Climbing over the counter she went over to the fridge and looked inside for anything edible. She had stocked the fridge with some items not too long ago. She made herself a sandwich and ate it rather quickly. It satisfied some of her hunger but she still had some munchies so she pulled a bag of nacho Doritos out of the cupboard. After grabbing a soda and her book, she sat down at the bar and started munching away as she began the next chapter of the book. She read the first half page and after she turned the page she opened the soda and took a couple gulps before setting the can down.

"What are you doing human?"

Angelique nearly jumped out of her skin when she looked and saw Megatron sitting on a stool beside her. He smirked at her reaction and she frowned, "Jerk! You're lucky I didn't spill my soda all over the place."

"Don't call me a jerk. Now what are you doing?"

"Reading if you can't tell for yourself, and eating too," she replied as she pulled a Dorito out of the bag, "Try it."

"I'll pass."

"Suit yourself," Angelique remarked as she popped it in her mouth and ate it. She then crawled back over the counter and put the bag of chips away. She was nearly scared senseless again when she turned only to have Megatron standing right before her. After giving him an evil eye she went over to the sink and started washing her hands, Megatron came over and leaned against the wall, watching her as she did so.

Annoyed she finally asked, "What do you want?"

"I can't find Optimus."

She gave him a sideways glance as she turned off the water and reached for a paper towel, "And I care because?"

He smirked, "Oh, so you don't like him very much either?"

"No, I never really have. Why are you looking for him anyway?"

"Territory issues."

"I see. I have no frickin' clue where he is and I don't know why you're coming to me about this either."

"Aurora's not around."

She looked to him after throwing the paper towel away, "How do you know?"

"I walked all over the autobot section of the base trying to find at least one of them but they are not about, I've asked all the autobots and they didn't know anything, like usual…so I came to you."

"They're probably out on a date or something."

"For this long?"

Her eyes widened, "Oh I sure hope to God that this is not their third date."

"Why?"

"Some people believe that on the third date you have…sex…though I don't see it happening between a transformer and a human and I don't want to see it happening and I have a really bad image in my head right now."

"Oh Primus."

Angelique then looked at him skeptically, "And why are you being nice?"

"Nice?" he asked before seizing her by the shirt collar and hoisting her to his optic level and growling, "Don't you ever tell me I'm being _nice_!" And he dropped her.

Angelique stumbled a bit but managed to stay on her feet. She shot him a glare before fetching her soda. She sat up on the bar counter and said, "If you don't mind me, I'm heading to my room."

Angelique wasn't sure how he moved so fast but suddenly he was standing directly in front of her, pressing his hands down on hers and preventing her from going anywhere. And he asked in an eerily sadistic voice, "And just who gave you permission to leave?"

"Um…" she said in a small voice, "God."

He frowned, "I don't think so human. And even if that were true, your God cannot save you now."

"Just what do you have in mind?"

"Oh, just making our _relationship_ a little more…personal."

"H-How?"

He grinned, "Since you are the only human to bear my insignia and since you will be the only human ever to bear my _official _mark, I am going to take you under my wing and make you a decepticon."

"Okay…"

"Don't brush it off nonchalantly human, you're in for hell," he said evilly and then added, "And don't think Wing-Saber will rescue you from this either, this is between you and me. If you tell anyone…I'll kill you."

Angelique gulped, "Al-Alright."

And he released her, but before he let her go for good he handed her a device that looked like a small cellphone, "This is wired to my comlink. You will use this to contact me if necessary and vice versa. Understand?"

"Yes."

He waited.

"Sir."

"Very good. Make sure you have it with you at all times because if I contact you and you do not answer, there will be hell to pay…dismissed."

Angelique quickly left the room.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to set as Optimus landed at a pier. The pier wasn't much, just a small wooden dock over a river. Trees surrounded them so they couldn't see the setting sun, but that didn't matter to either of them. Aurora got out of Optimus and started walking over to the railing on the pier as Optimus transformed. He watched Aurora for a moment with a small smile on his face and then came up beside her as she stood at the railing, on looking the river and the scenery beyond that.

"How did you find this place?" she asked in a voice just above a whisper.

"I've done some driving around this town," he replied.

"When?"

"In some of my spare time."

"I didn't know that."

He didn't say anything and instead he placed an arm around her. Aurora suddenly remembered something when she felt Optimus's touch and she couldn't help but ask, "Optimus, what happened to Elita?"

The autobot leader sighed heavily, "You know about her?"

"Yes…"

He hesitated before saying, "She just…disappeared one day. I believe her to be dead, but I don't know. I haven't heard from her for vorns and vorns. It doesn't matter anyway…I don't miss her. She's nothing more than a distant memory now."

"I bet she ran off with Megatron."

Optimus chuckled, "If that's the case, he must've grown sick of her and killed her. You don't ever plan on running off with Megatron do you?"

"Absolutely not, I hate his guts. I don't know what my sister sees in him. She's tried to explain it to me, but it hasn't changed how I feel towards him," and she smiled, "Even if I joke around and say I like Megatron, she can't stand it. She'll give me a look of death before she tries to rip my head off."

"She needs to move on."

Aurora nodded, "Yeah, she even gets jealous when male friends of hers say they like Megatron. She'll try to convince them that they don't really like him and that they like some other transformer instead."

"She's obsessed…and I must say that's ridiculous."

"Ah not really."

"And why's that?"

"A few of her friends are homosexuals."

Optimus felt his optics widen, "Oh…she's not one is she?"

Aurora shook her head, "No. Homosexuals are just extremely friendly and nice people…well, usually."

"I see…okay new topic."

She chuckled, "Okay."

He pulled her against him and asked as the first star appeared in the sky, "Aurora, you know how you wished us alive?"

"Yes."

"Did you wish on the first star you saw?"

"Yes I did."

"Well since it worked the first time, why don't you make another wish?"

Aurora looked up to the sky and saw the single twinkling star. She smirked, "Okay, I'll give this another shot." And she closed her eyes and sighed. A few moments later she opened them and said, "There."

"What'd you wish for?"

"If I tell, then it won't come true."

"Can you swim?"

"Yes, wait! Why?!"

But he didn't answer her as he gathered her in his arms and jumped off the pier. Aurora didn't get a chance to cry out because the water met them before she could open her mouth. They slipped under the surface momentarily before Optimus resurfaced with her. She looked at him in total disbelief, "Optimus Prime! I am wearing jeans; you know how hard these are going to be to take off now that they're soaking wet?"

"They'll dry," he remarked smirking.

She shook her head and pushed away from him. The water wasn't that cold, but Aurora wasn't about to stay in it a moment longer so she started swimming over to the shore. Optimus caught her though and pulled her back out. She gave him a disgusted look before remarking, "Butthead."

He laughed, "I'm sorry."

She proceeded to splash him, "Aren't you going to rust?"

"Nah, I'm good," he replied, "Now since we're both soaking wet we mine as well take a little swim."

"Okay," she responded and then proceeded to dunk him.

Optimus soon resurfaced with a smirk on his face. "My turn," he said.

"Oh crap!" Aurora exclaimed and she started swimming away from him, but he caught her and dunked her beneath the surface of the water.

It wasn't long before she resurfaced and she was just about to yell at him when she abruptly felt something catch on her foot and pull her back below the surface of the water. Alarmed, Optimus dove under the water and quickly found Aurora, a branch from a fallen tree had hooked onto her pant leg. He grabbed hold of her and yanked her back up, snapping the branch in the process. 

When they were above the surface again, Aurora was trembling a bit from fear and Optimus held her tightly against him, "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah. I just forgot this river has a deadly reputation."

"Don't worry; I'm not going to let you go."

"That sounds…that sounds _really_ good."

Optimus looked her over for a minute. Her hair was dripping wet and messy, her shirt was sticking right to her and she just looked absolutely beautiful. His optics dimmed and he leaned forward until his lips met Aurora's. He kissed her slowly, gently, with all the passion he could muster. And when the kiss was through, Aurora smiled softly before whispering, "Well, there's another wish that came true."

He couldn't hold back a smile.

And then Aurora said, "I'm cold."

"Let's get you back to your house then so that you can change into a dry pair of clothes."

"Alright."

He flew up out of the water, Aurora in his arms as he did so, and he landed on the pier. The autobot leader then opened a space gate and both he and Aurora stepped through it, ending up in her bedroom in the house. "Okay, wait here, I'll try not to take too long," Aurora stated as she grabbed a pair of dry clothes and headed into the bathroom where she promptly changed her clothes and then dried her hair. She then emerged from the bathroom after hanging her wet clothes over the tub and returned to her bedroom where Optimus was waiting.

Optimus walked up to her as she entered the room and wrapped his arms around her before saying, "Are you better now?"

She smiled, "Much better. We should probably get back down to the base though; people might be looking for us or wondering where we are."

"Right. We should probably go make sure Angelique is still in one piece."

"And after that I say we go to your quarters and watch a movie."

The autobot leader grinned, "Good idea. Come on, let's get going."

And the two of them proceeded out of the house and back down towards the base.

* * *

Angelique had gotten half way to her room when she realized she had left her book behind in the hangout. She groaned at her stupidity as she turned around and went back to the hangout, only to nearly have a collision with Megatron as he came out of the hangout. He crossed his arms, "Back so soon?"

"I forgot my book."

He waited.

"Um...sir," she said quietly and then added, "May I say something?"

"What?"

"Calling you sir is really awkward."

"Get used to it."

She waited for him to step out of her way but when he didn't she asked getting annoyed, "Megatron, can you move?"

He smirked, crossing his arms, "I can, yes."

"Will you _please_ do so then?"

He stepped aside and Angelique walked by him and into the room. She hoped he wouldn't follow her back inside as she went over to the counter and got her book, but when she turned around and nearly crashed into him again she knew her hope had run out. "Okay," she said, "You must be really bored if you keep stalking me like this."

"Good guess."

"Alright then…let's watch a movie."

He looked at her skeptically, "A movie?"

"Yes, as bizarre as it sounds you and I are going to watch a movie," she stated and proceeded to toss her book onto the couch, "Now…to find a movie without any romance in it and one that won't make me cry."

The decepticon leader raised an optic ridge.

"Hold on a minute," Angelique remarked and went over to a small shelf where some DVDs were being kept. She glanced through them thinking, _"National Treasure…no it has a kissing scene, Monty Python and the Holy Grail…definitely not, Independence Day…possibly, The Princess Diaries 2…I practically have that memorized and Megatron wouldn't like it, Pirates of the Caribbean…too long, Transformers…ha ha that would be a laugh, but I can never make it __through the whole movie without having to use the restroom. Um…there's got to be something here…Star Wars, no…God I need to go buy some movies. Wait a second what's this? Ah, War of the Worlds…eh, not perfect but it'll have to do."_ She pulled that movie out and turned to Megatron saying, "Okay got one."

"Took you long enough."

"I had a poor selection…but I found a good enough one…I hope," Angelique said and then looked to Megatron before saying, "Alright…let's just watch this."

He watched her as she walked over to the DVD player and placed the DVD inside after removing it from the case. She then looked back over at him and they locked eye contact for a moment before Angelique frowned and walked over to him. Grabbing him by the hand she tried to drag him over to the couch, but she had no such luck, "Move you megaton megalomaniac!"

The decepticon leader frowned, "You better not be calling me fat."

"No, I'm calling myself weak," she murmured but he heard her.

"You got that right," he replied and started walking; Angelique nearly tripped over herself when he did so, but she retained her poise and led him over to the couch.

They took a seat once there and Angelique groped around the cushions for the remote. She was sitting in the middle of the couch, and when her search for the remote turned up nothing, she flipped up the cushion to the empty seat to see if the remote was under it, but it wasn't. The girl then got up and looked under her own cushion, but it wasn't there either. She then looked to Megatron who looked back to her and said, "Don't even think about it."

"I need to find the remote."

"Has it ever occurred to you that you can walk up to the television and press the buttons there?"

"I know that. You're just pressing my buttons at the moment."

"Good."

She shook her head frustrated and decided it would be easier to deal with the television rather than the decepticon leader. Thus, she went to the TV and pressed a couple buttons. When the movie started playing, she returned to the couch and sat on the other end, away from Megatron.

"Thanks to you we have to watch the previews at the beginning now," Angelique remarked, "You could at least feel under your seat."

"Quit talking perverted."

Her eyes widened, "Get your CPU out of the gutter."

"Don't tell me what to do _human_."

She glared at him from the corner of her eye and decided to ignore him. When the previews ended, Megatron broke the silence and asked, "What is this movie?"

"War of the Worlds…Steven Spielberg directed it."

"I've never heard of him."

"You have now."

"Don't talk smart to me."

"Sorry."

"And why are you sitting over there at the other end of the couch?"

"Because it's a free country and I can," and then she added, "And if Wing-Saber walks in he won't suspect anything."

Megatron leered and moved next to her. Angelique sighed heavily, "You like to complicate things don't you?"

"You like it."

"I do not," she lied as she fought back a blush. She then leaned over him and was nearly sprawled out on his lap as she flipped the cushion up that he had been sitting on and found the remote. "What do you know…" she exclaimed as she grabbed the remote and then pressed the cushion back down. After she had done so, she leaned back over and against the arm of the couch, setting the remote between her and Megatron.

Unsure of how to bother her at the moment, the decepticon leader reluctantly turned his attention to the movie.

* * *

Optimus and Aurora arrived back down at the base and were walking down one of the many halls when the autobot leader said, "I'm going to go check on my men real quick just to make sure everything is in order."

"That's fine; I'll go locate my sister just to see if she's still in one piece."

"Alright, I'll come looking for you once I'm done."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you later Optimus."

He nodded, while giving her a wink, before he walked away. Aurora smiled and sighed, "What a hunk." Getting a hold of herself, she decided to try the hangout first since that was the usual spot to find Angelique when Megatron didn't have his hands on her. She walked there, and when she walked in, her eyes nearly bugged right out of her head. _"Megatron and Angelique watching a movie together?!" _she thought absolutely stunned, _"That's something I thought I'd never see. Perhaps there is a little something going on between them that I didn't catch before."_

And she cleared her throat before walking in causing them to look over at her. "Am I interrupting anything?" she asked with her arms crossed.

"Aurora! Where have you and Optimus been?" questioned Angelique.

"Well…" she trailed off before smiling.

Angelique's jaw dropped, "Oh…my…GOD! You did not have sex with him!"

Aurora gave her a look of death, "NO! Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Um…" she said but didn't finish her sentence. Instead she went on, "Well how was I supposed to know Optimus wasn't one of those guys that goes around and humps everything in his path?"

Megatron laughed and Aurora groaned, "I don't know how I've dealt with you all these years."

"Anyways…did you go on a date?"

"Yes we did."

Angelique looked her over, knowing that something had happened. "You're glowing…metaphorically speaking," her eyes then brightened when she put her finger on it; "You got your first kiss didn't you?"

Aurora's cheeks flushed.

"I knew it!" Angelique exclaimed.

"That's enough to make me purge the energon I had earlier…" said Megatron.

Angelique ignored him, "Does he kiss good?"

"I don't need the details!" Megatron hissed and then stated smugly, "And it wouldn't matter because I kiss better than him anyways."

"And how would you know?" wondered Angelique, "Unless you actually kissed him."

Megatron's optics went wide, "Never in the name of Primus have I ever kissed Optimus and I never will!"

"Amen to that," Angelique stated.

Aurora rolled her eyes, "How'd things go between you and Wing-Saber?"

"We kissed and made up without the kissing."

Aurora shook her head, "Where is he then?"

"Somewhere…somewhere over the rainbow."

"I'm sure—

"With Lucky eating Lucky Charms."

The older sister put a hand to her forehead and sighed, "I don't know you right now."

Angelique smiled and proceeded to pause the movie. Yawning she said, "But honestly…does Optimus kiss good?"

"Why do you care to know?"

"You can't blame curiosity!"

"Okay then yes he does."

Megatron shook his head, "I'm still better."

"Ah, prove it," Angelique remarked sarcastically.

"Alright flesh bag, come here."

"WHAT?! I wasn't being serious!" she pressed herself back into the couch as he moved closer to her, "Can't you tell a sarcastic tone when you mmh—

Angelique's heart nearly beat right out of her chest when Megatron's lips suddenly pressed against hers. Oh it was the best kiss she had received in her life, and she couldn't help herself as she kissed back.

Aurora had to shield her eyes as she watched the decepticon leader lay a fast one on her sister. _"If Wing-Saber walks in Angelique is totally screwed…but then again she's getting something that she wanted for five years…even if Megatron is just proving something rather…pointless."_

Seconds later though Megatron pulled away, wiping his mouth as he exclaimed, "Primus that has to be the most _sickening_ thing I've ever done." And he got up and left the room without bothering to wait for Angelique to rate his kiss.

Not knowing what else to say, Aurora asked quietly, "You alright Angelique?"

She burst into tears.

* * *

It wasn't long before Optimus came by the hangout to get Aurora; he had come with Wing-Saber, and by the time they got there Aurora had managed to calm Angelique down. Optimus didn't bother to stay and chat as he proceeded to leave the hangout with Aurora. Wing-Saber sat down on the couch next to Angelique and she leaned against him. He wrapped an arm around her as he smiled and asked, "So, what'd you do all day?"

"Oh…not too much."

He chuckled, "Life is boring with out me around to entertain you huh?"

She faked a smile at his cocky statement, "…Yeah." And she yawned before saying, "I'm exhausted. The fine print in that book killed my eyes."

"Let's get you to bed then. Do you want to stay down here?"

"Why not?"

"Alright then I shall carry you to your room."

She shook her head, "You don't need to do that, I'm capable of walking."

"Oh but I insist!" he exclaimed as he stood up from the couch and lifted her in his arms.

Angelique didn't bother to protest as he carried her out of the hangout and down a series of hallways to her room. He set her on the bed and then sat down next to her before saying, "Are you sure you'll be alright here alone?"

"I'll be just fine."

"Okay then, if you need anything just holler."

"Will do," she replied smiling as she gave him a hug.

He hugged her back, grinning himself as he kissed the top of her head and said, "I'll be going then so that you can get some sleep. Until tomorrow my dear."

"Until then," she responded, "Night Wing-Saber."

"Same to you, Angelique," and he left the room.

Angelique sighed as she laid back on her bed. She wasn't tired from reading her book, but from crying…and she wasn't going to tell Wing-Saber that. Plenty had happened after he left her alone in the hangout, plenty between her and Megatron, but she wasn't about to tell the autobot that either. And most certainly she would not tell Wing-Saber about the kiss.

Because if he found out…she was as good as dead.

* * *

By the time Optimus and Aurora arrived at the autobot leader's quarters, they had both agreed that they were too tired to watch a movie and instead agreed to hold off until the next day to watch the movie. And to save Aurora the task of walking to her room, Optimus invited her to stay in his guest room again, which the girl agreed to do. Upon her agreement, the autobot leader lifted her in his arms and carried her into his quarters. He set her down inside his guest quarters but he didn't let her go. Holding her against him he whispered, "I wish you goodnight, Aurora."

"Same to you Optimus."

He smiled softly before he leaned down once again and gave her a soft kiss. "I'll see you in the morning," he remarked.

Aurora nodded and Optimus left her alone. The girl watched as the door closed and sighed heavily as she plopped down on the bed, _"Today had to be the best day of my life."_

Sooo...another chapter done...lots more to come. I have so much in mind for this story, if only you guys knew...until the next chapter though, please review!

* * *


	11. Tortured Souls

Well, I'm home from my brief vacation, but while I was away I managed to type this in some of my spare time. I wasn't able to upload it because I didn't have internet access...bleh...but here it is now. I hope you enjoy it and many thanks and cookies to everyone who has reviewed.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Tortured Souls**

Angelique wasn't sure what time it was when she woke up the next morning in the pitch black room. Thinking it was around eight in the morning, she glanced over at the digital clock on the nightstand beside her bed and felt her eyes widen slightly. It was just past six in the morning. Seeing no reason to get up that early, she rolled back over in the bed and was just about to snuggle herself into a fitful snooze until she heard something vibrate on her nightstand. Groaning, the teen rolled back over and picked up what she thought was her cellphone, that was until she got a better look at it and realized it was the small device Megatron had given her to act as a comlink. Sighing heavily, she pressed the accept button and asked, "You rang?"

"Ah, Angelique, I see you are awake. Report to the throne room at once."

"But Megatron—

"There are no buts about it."

"I just woke up! I still need to get dressed and everything," she tried to explain.

He grumbled, "Well, hurry up. I will not be kept waiting." And he ended the call.

Angelique growled under her breath and got up from the bed. After grabbing a pair of clothes, she went into the bathroom where she took care of her hygiene and got dressed. She soon emerged from the bathroom wearing a pair of capris and a t-shirt. After glancing around her room, she left and headed for the hangout and the kitchen to get herself a quick breakfast before she went and met with Megatron…something she wasn't sure she should look forward to or not.

* * *

Megatron grumbled as he drummed his fingers on the arm of his throne. He had allowed the human time to get ready, but here he was sitting a whole _hour_ later still waiting for her to make an appearance. Just as he was about to get up and look for her she suddenly waltzed in, and she wasn't fashionably late either.

"Human," growled the Decepticon leader, "Just where have you been?"

"Let's see…I got up, went pee, got dressed, brushed my hair, got breakfast, brushed my teeth…and then I came here," she answered crossing her arms, "Just why did you call me anyways?"

Megatron's lips curled into a frown as he stated, "I didn't need to know all the details human…and your training begins today."

"Training?" asked Angelique quizzically.

"Don't tell me you have forgotten," he replied smugly, gesturing towards her chest.

Angelique glanced downwards, her eye catching the gleam from the top part of the Decepticon insignia since it wasn't covered by her shirt. She then looked back up at Megatron, "Oh…yeah. What kind of training?"

He grunted as he smirked, "Physical training."

She raised an eyebrow, "You mean fighting?"

"Precisely."

"I'm a pacifist though," she attempted to protest.

"No Decepticon is a pacifist."

"I never said I was a Decepticon."

He scowled, "You wear _my_ insignia, therefore you _are_ a Decepticon."

"I never chose to wear your insignia though. _You're_ the one who put it on me," she griped pointing at him.

"Do not argue with me human! I declare you a Decepticon and my word is final!" he exclaimed angrily and Angelique squinted her eyes irately at him deciding to let the argument drop there.

Instead she turned on her heel and headed towards the door saying, "I'm leaving! You're nothing but a waste of my time and energy, besides, I have better things to do than stand here and argue with you all day."

Megatron snorted and just as Angelique reached the doors she heard them click, locked. She sighed heavily, glaring at the door before she slowly turned back to the leader of the Decepticons. "I really hate you right now," she said.

"I'm glad, the feelings mutual."

She let an irritated huff of air pass through her nostrils as Megatron stood and walked over to her. He grasped her upper arm firmly as he stated displeased, "Come my dear, I shall escort you to the training room."

"You're not training me are you?" she asked hoping he'd say no.

The doors unlocked and he roughly pulled her forward. Angelique fell into step with him as he responded, "Were you not listening yesterday? I said I was taking you under my wing to _make_ you into a Decepticon."

"So technically then…I am not a Decepticon."

He sighed heavily, obviously peeved, "Not yet."

"You do realize that I am a girl right? The assumed definition of one."

"As if I care," he snapped.

She rolled her eyes, fighting back the anger brewing inside of her, "That means I don't like pain, I don't like sweat, I don't like blood, and I enjoy being weak."

"Enjoy being weak?! Who in their right mind would _enjoy_ being weak?" he asked shocked.

"Well of course not you, you're the power-hungry war monger."

"Being weak means you have to rely on others to defend you and to support you. I would never put so much trust into a person."

"And why not?"

"All they do is abuse it in the end."

"That's not true."

"How would you know? You're naïve and oblivious when it comes to life."

"You're trying to make me explain something unexplainable. When you love and trust somebody as a friend you can do anything and share anything with them."

"You're just giving yourself away."

"No because they love and trust you as a friend as well. You just _wouldn't_ know because you've _never_ had any friends."

"And I don't need any."

Angelique tried to break free from his grasp but he just tightened his grip and pulled her closer to him. "Let me go!" she cried knowing that it was useless to say such a thing since she knew he wouldn't let her go.

"I'm not letting you go, human. Not until I am finished with you."

"I can scream you know. That's another one of my girly traits."

He smirked, "And I can kill you. Now shut up and obey."

She growled as she decided to keep her mouth shut for now. She figured her arm was going to be bruised tomorrow where he had his hand latched onto her arm since he was gripping it so tightly. And they arrived at the training room sooner than Angelique wanted. Megatron stepped inside with her, and once the doors closed, the teen heard them click and knew that they were locked…and she was trapped inside the training room—torture room as she wanted to call it—with none other than the leader of the Decepticons.

"Well, how is this going to go down?" she asked as Megatron released her and she ignored the urge to rub the pain away in her arm.

"I will show you some basic moves," he explained, "And then I'll put you against some simulators."

Her eyes widened, "Robotic ones?"

"No, flesh ones, Primus forbid should I allow you to be hurt," he remarked sarcastically.

Angelique glared at him yet again, "Just show me the moves. The sooner I get away from you the better."

"Show me your fighting stance," he sighed.

"Fighting stance? I don't have a—

"I don't care!" he shouted exasperated, "Just get into one!"

Angelique rolled her eyes and shifted into a lazy fighting stance. Her arms drooped before her and her legs were just on the verge of sagging as she shot him a look that seemed to say 'be a jerk to me and I'll be a jerk to you.'

"Human if you are trying to get me mad, you're doing a very good job," Megatron growled, "Straighten up!"

And all signs of laziness left Angelique's stance, causing the Decepticon to sigh, "That's better. But it's quite obvious you've never fought before or had any sort of instruction on self-defense."

"My self-defense comes from my bodyguard."

"And who's your bodyguard?"

"Wing-Saber, duh."

Megatron made as if he rolled his optics and then said, "He needs to go."

"What do you mean?"

"Your little affair with him needs to end."

"Why?"

"I allow my Decepticons to take mates, but not autobot ones."

Angelique crossed her arms, "You and Starscream are the only available ones."

"Actually no we're not."

Panic suddenly raced to the teen's heart and it was all she could do to keep her eyes from clouding up with tears. "What do you mean?" she asked trying not to sound affected by what Megatron had said, "You two aren't together are you?"

Megatron's optics nearly shattered, "_No_! I only meant we're not available to humans! Both he and I refuse to take a human as a mate."

"You kissed one though."

"A kiss means nothing."

"A kiss is a sign of love."

"Ah, love;" he sighed lustfully, "You know what love is to me?"

"Sex."

"Not the transformer term, but yes."

"Oh? And just what do you transformers call it?"

"Bonding, interfacing, merging…take your pick."

"Abstinence," she replied.

He smirked, "I take it you have a different definition of love."

"Yes, totally different…" she trailed off.

"Enlighten me."

"Eh…love is falling head over heels for a person who doesn't have to be strong, beautiful, skinny, wealthy, muscular, or powerful. It's what's in here that counts," she explained stabbing a finger into his chest, "It's in here what truly makes a person who they are and what determines if they're ugly or beautiful."

"You _are_ a girl."

"And you're ugly."

"Get back into your stance," he stated figuring this conversation had gone on long enough.

And reluctantly Angelique resumed her fighting stance. Megatron sighed at it, "Gosh that's pitiful." And he walked over to her to put her into a better one. "Put this leg here," he said as he pushed his hand on the inner part of her thigh.

Angelique quickly put her leg where Megatron instructed her to, eyes wide as she did so. "Your hand was a little too close for comfort," she stated.

"Keep your leg where it's supposed to be and I won't touch you there again," he remarked.

"Touch me there again and I'll have Wing-Saber on you in two shakes of a lamb's tail," she mumbled to herself as Megatron circled around behind her.

"I'm really sure a lamb appreciates being touched there," he retorted before adding, "And Wing-Saber is no match for me."

"I've watched the cartoon for over five years, you're easily outsmarted."

"And you look like a chicken with your elbows flailed out like that."

Angelique got an annoyed expression on her face but it quickly faded into a surprised one when she felt Megatron gently grasp her shoulders and slide his hands down her arms to her elbows. She shuddered as he did so.

"What's the matter human?"

A slight blush hit her face as she gasped, "N-Nothing sir."

He looked down at the top of her head, giving it a suspicious glance before he moved her arms into the positions where he wanted them to be. "Keep your arms here," he stated.

"Not here?" she asked raising her arms slightly.

He sighed heavily as he placed them back where he wanted them, "No."

"They're more comfortable here," she disputed with a slight smirk on her face.

Once again he positioned her arms where he wanted them to be and lightly growled, "Quit flirting with me."

A heavy blush engulfed her cheeks, "I-I'm not flirting."

"Like the pit you aren't. I've trained femmes who have pulled the exact same stunt," he explained and then added with a slight sneer, "Of course I'd usually go a little farther with—

"I don't need to know."

He didn't say anything as he ran his hands down her back causing her to stiffen and arch it slightly. Giving her a suspicious look again he asked, "Why do you keep doing that?"

"D-Doing what?" she asked

Megatron gave her an irked look before he slowly slid his hands back up her back, feeling as she tensed and leaned closer to him. "Doing that," he said.

She bit her lip, not sure what to say. Finally she answered in a soft voice, "I…um…don't know."

"You like it don't you?"

The heavy blush that had just begun to fade from her cheeks suddenly intensified itself and she stumbled with her words, "N-No, of course not!"

"Then why do you melt under my touch?" he continued, turning her to look at him. He saw the blush on her face and she quickly hung her head, trying to hide her face the best she could. When she didn't respond he shouted while seizing her by the collar of her shirt, "Answer me!"

"I thought you knew," she replied softly, looking him in the optics even though she wanted to keep her gaze to the floor. Her fingers groped at his as she tried to free herself from his grasp.

His optics widened as if he had just been shocked for the first time in his life, "I had my suspicions…but to know that you actually do, Primus dare I say it, to know that you _like_ me."

She wouldn't let him know that the word like wasn't powerful enough to describe how she felt for him and she just said, "Just let go of me."

"Five years wasn't it? That was what you told Wing-Saber yesterday, wasn't it?"

"Y-Yes…"

"Why?" he demanded, "Why do you care?!"

"I don't know!" she shouted back, "I've always had a thing for the bad guys I guess. I suppose it's because I didn't think it was fair that you have to live a life…that you have to fulfill a destiny that forbids you from the bliss and wonders of love!"

"Love?" Megatron breathed surprised and then shook his head before he let her go and turned away from her, livid. And then he declared, voice strained with anger, "Forget the moves…you can learn to fight on your own. If I'm lucky the simulators will _kill_ you."

"Why are you so mad?"

"Why are you so weak?"

She didn't answer and he walked to the other side of the room to a small computer. He pressed a few buttons on it and suddenly a simulated human male appeared in front of Angelique. She tensed upon seeing it and quickly ducked when he swung a punch at her. A foot came swinging at her and she didn't have time to react as it connected with her gut and sent her to the floor. She blinked back the tears as the simulator started walking towards her. Willing herself to stand, Angelique slowly got up and attempted to a lay a few blows on the simulation, but she missed each time. And she nearly peed her pants when another simulated male appeared to her right and another to her left, and finally one behind her, surrounding the teen.

"I hate you human," Megatron spoke suddenly from the simulation controls, "I hate you so much…you pathetic wretch."

She squeezed her eyes shut trying desperately to keep the tears that were building in her eyes from finding their way out. "Shut up," she growled, voice broken and strained.

"Do not tell me what to do flesh bag!"

And another simulation appeared. Angelique made a move to run, but one of the simulators grabbed her and held her where she was while the other four advanced upon her.

"Feel my wrath, worm."

But she refused to fight back.

* * *

Angelique stumbled back into her room at about eight thirty that night. It had been such a long day, and she was in so much pain it was all she could do to move. Megatron had let the simulators pummel her, but they only beat her in places that could be covered by clothing so that she could hide the evidence that the Decepticon leader had beaten her. And he had let the simulations beat her until she nearly lost consciousness. They hadn't hit her in the face, but that didn't stop Megatron from allowing the simulations from striking her where her hair covered her head. And when the simulations finally disappeared, Megatron forced her to get up and he proceeded to show her the correct moves. When she had grasped how to do them well enough, he brought the simulators back out and made her fight one until she beat it, and by that time she was exhausted and famished. And it had taken so long…

She had just collapsed on her bed when suddenly there was a knock on her door. Groaning, she sat up and hollered, "Enter."

Aurora was the one who walked in, arms crossed, and she bellowed, "Just where have you been all day?"

"Why?"

"Wing-Saber and I spent all day looking for you, where have you been?"

"I uh, I went into town to hang out with some friends. I got a call from Joe this morning on my cellphone and he wanted to know if I uh…wanted to go job hunting with him, so I did."

"Well you could have at least told someone you were leaving or left a note!"

"Sorry, he and I made plans to hang out again tomorrow, so you know now and you don't have to come looking for me. And tell Wing-Saber not to worry either, Joe is gay."

"He thought you were with Megatron. He was starting to get really mad."

"I guess I can't blame him," Angelique said softly and winced as she sat up a bit more on the bed, "Aurora uh…can you get me something to eat?"

Aurora looked her over, "What's wrong? You look as if you're in…pain."

"N-No I'm fine. I'm just hungry and too tired to move."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she replied lying back on the bed, grimacing.

"Angelique…you're lying, what happened?"

"My feet are just sore from walking around all day, you know how that is?" she said and then gave a light laugh.

But Aurora wasn't convinced. Instead she replied, "I guess…I'll go get you something to eat then."

"Thank you."

Aurora didn't say anything as she went to the hangout to retrieve some food for her sister. As she stepped inside, she observed Wing-Saber sitting on the couch. When he saw Aurora walk in and head over to the cupboards and refrigerator he asked, "You hungry?"

"No I'm fine, but Angelique is hungry."

"You found her?"

"Yeah, she was in her room."

"Where's she been?"

"Out with a friend job hunting."

"Male or female?"

"Male."

"All day? Something must've happened—

"Calm down, her friend, his name is Joe, he's gay."

Wing-Saber let out a huge sigh of relief until he noticed that Aurora was a bit downcast, "What's the matter?"

"She's in a lot of pain…she says it's her feet, but it's quite obvious it's her whole body. Wing-Saber, it's all she can do to move and she won't tell me what happened."

Wing-Saber felt his mech fluids freeze, "Why wouldn't she tell you?"

"I don't know, it's not like her to keep anything from me…" Aurora shook her head as she grabbed a soda and a bag of popcorn, "This out to hold her over. Come on, let's go."

Wing-Saber nodded and they went to Angelique's room only to find the girl fast asleep, snuggled underneath the covers. Aurora set the soda and bag of popcorn on her sister's desk and said softly, "Let's not wake her. We'll find out what's going on in the morning."

The autobot sighed heavily, "Alright."

And the two of them left the room.

* * *

Angelique awoke the next morning to the sound of the device Megatron had given her vibrating on her nightstand. She started to roll over, but it hurt so much she stopped, whimpering in pain and blinking back tears in her eyes. Clenching her teeth together she extended an arm out and grasped the device. She held it to her ear after pressing the accept button and whispered hoarsely into it, "I'm not coming Megatron."

"Wow human, you sound dead."

"I feel dead, I'm so sore I can't even move."

"That's a pity. Hurry up and get ready and report to me at once."

"Didn't I just say I wasn't coming?"

"If you fail to report to me then you'll endure the same beating as yesterday."

Angelique sighed heavily, "Why do you insist on doing this to me?"

"I have nothing else to do."

"Megatron…"

"What human?"

"Are you going to go easier on me today?"

"Absolutely not," he answered and then added, "You have half an hour to get here. If you fail to show, I will come and get you and you know the consequences."

He ended the transmission. And reluctantly and painfully Angelique stumbled out of bed to report to him.

* * *

For the next five days that was what Angelique did. She woke up every morning only having to report to Megatron. However, on the end of her second day of training, or torture as she called it now, she took the device that Megatron had given her and flushed it down the toilet in her room. To her weary surprise, it made it down the toilet. But on the morning of the third day she was rudely and painfully awoken by Megatron in person. He forced her to get ready, and once she had, he immediately took her to the training room, also known as the torture room in Angelique's mind, and he made her tell him what she had done to the device that he had given her. She told him, and he punished her with the simulators like he had done the first time, only this time the blows were harder and sharper.

Angelique would sneak in meals when she could, which was when she woke up and just before she went to bed at night. Megatron didn't allow her to eat while he "trained" her and it was all she could do to get bathroom breaks. And because of all the extreme exercise Megatron was putting her through and the way he prevented her from eating, she began to drastically lose weight and dehydrate. Her body was slowly becoming weaker, the pain she felt only increasing as the days went on. Her body felt broken and lame, it felt like she was wearing a suit made of iron and lead, and it felt like each cell in her body, which was around 32 trillion, had ruptured and was bruised and bleeding. Her steps were sluggish, her movement slow, her speech slurred, her body covered with bruises and aching and bleeding nearly all the time. Sleep was always a relief to her, but waking up seemed worse than hell.

And she knew she was slowly dying by Megatron's hand.

Wing-Saber and Aurora tried every night to find out what was wrong with Angelique, but each time they went to ask she was always in bed and asleep, and they never had the heart to wake her. They tried coming to her in the mornings but she was always gone before they could get to her room, and Aurora was beginning to become consumed with worry.

* * *

It was nearly the end of her seventh day of torture, almost time to collapse into her bed, her body aching and dying. Megatron had her fighting a simulator, and when she managed to destroy it, she collapsed to her knees and then shifted so that she was sitting, propped up against a wall. The Decepticon leader grumbled and walked over to her, "Get up human, you're not done yet."

She was covered in sweat and panting, "Megatron, I'm tired. I don't feel good, you know that."

"I said get up."

"I'm not fighting anymore," she stated in a voice just above a harsh whisper, "I'm too tired."

"You're weak," he scoffed grabbing her by the shoulders and hoisting her to her feet. He shoved her against the wall, "You have one simulation left."

"I said I'm not fighting anymore!" she cried out, "Just let me go, I'm a human, not a Decepticon, I was not designed or programmed for this type of thing!"

He punched her in the gut, not with all his might because he knew that would kill her, and he growled, "I don't care! You will do as I say and you will fight! Quit being so pathetic!"

"Megatron you're killing me!" she sobbed, letting the tears out this time, not caring how weak it made her look…just simply not caring.

He chuckled lowly and Angelique's eyes widened as she said in a trembling voice, "That was your intention all along wasn't it?"

"Not really, but how much fun it would be to see this kill you," he laughed, "Oh what a joy it would be to see you collapse dead and soulless in here before me."

"You've gone…you've gone crazy," she whispered, voice strained, "What happened to you?"

He face was expressionless, emotionless, but sadness and pain was in his voice as he dismally confessed, "Oh Primus, I miss the war! The war was my entire being…the only thing I had to keep me going…and now…now I have nothing. Peace is destroying me."

"Megatron," she breathed, "You're severely depressed…"

He snorted and she continued, "Megatron don't just blow this off! You need to see Red Alert before something happens to you."

He looked her straight in the eye, "Funny how you are so willing to help me considering what I've done to you and what I've yet to do."

"I've always placed others before myself," she replied, "And I'll do the same now."

"Well you shouldn't!" he barked throwing her into the doors of the room, "Get out of my sight!"

Angelique painfully climbed to her feet and stumbled out of the room. She walked, limping and sluggishly, back to her room and immediately collapsed on her bed. Kicking her shoes off, she climbed beneath the covers and was just about to fall asleep when suddenly there was a knock on her door. She ignored it, but the person proceeded to enter anyway. Looking over, she saw it was Wing-Saber and she felt her heart swell with relief and joy.

"By Primus's spark you're actually awake," he exclaimed coming in and shutting the door; "I've been trying to talk to you for the last week, is everything alright?"

Her eyes clouded over with tears and the Autobot noticed. He immediately came to her side and sat beside her, "What's wrong?"

"I want to tell you so badly," she breathed, crying, "But he said he'd kill me if I did."

Wing-Saber felt shock pierce through him, "Kill you? Who? I swear to Primus you need to tell me, and I promise that I won't let him hurt you anymore. I'll be right by your side at all times, I'll protect you…please Angelique. I know you're in pain and more than anything I want to take that pain away."

Her face crumpled and he started to wrap his arms around her only to have her suddenly cry out in pain. He refrained from his movements and Angelique laid back on the bed saying, "I hurt so much."

"What happened?" he asked gently.

She rolled over onto her stomach, grimacing as she did so. Part of her shirt came up in the back and Wing-Saber saw the bruises. He pulled her shirt up only to reveal tons more, so many he couldn't even begin to count. And he saw the cuts and the dried blood, and he saw that the bruises kept going beneath Angelique's waistline. "By Primus…Angelique! Who in the name of Primus did this to you?!" he shouted, desperation highly evident in his voice, "If Joe is the one I swear by the pit that I'll—

"It's not him…I lied about that…I've never left this base all week," she slowly confessed as she rolled over and looked him in the optic.

"Then…who?"

She swallowed hard as she squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered, "Megatron."

"Megatron?!" roared Wing-Saber, "I should've known, I—

"He's gone crazy Wing-Saber…he makes me report to him every morning at around six only so he can beat me and torture me…if I don't show up he comes and gets me and beats me even worse."

"Oh Angelique," he breathed laying down beside her and taking gently in his arms.

"I've tried to get away from him but he always finds me and he won't let me go…and he's killing me Wing-Saber."

Concern and anger were burning in his optics as he murmured in her ear softly, "Not anymore, now that I've got you I'm not letting you go."

"Wing-Saber, I'm…I'm so scared," she cried.

He wiped her tears with his thumb, "Its okay. You're going to be safe now."

She slowly wrapped her arms around him, "Just stay here with me…and whatever you do, please don't hurt me." A new wave of tears leaked from her eyes.

"Angelique I could never do such a thing," he said and he leaned forward, gently capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.

Angelique sighed heavily as she accepted the kiss, using whatever energy she had left to kiss back. "I care about you so much," he stated after the kiss was through, "Now come on, I'm taking you to Red Alert."

"Just don't let Megatron find me."

"Don't worry, he won't," Wing-Saber said trying to reassure her as he lifted her in his arms and headed to the med bay with her.

Along the way they bumped into none other than Aurora who got a panic-stricken look on her face when she saw Wing-Saber carrying her sister like that. "What's going on?" she asked voice full of concern.

"I got her to tell me what's been going on," Wing-Saber answered, "And it's not good."

"What's going on then?"

"I'll tell you in the med bay, go get Optimus, he's going to want to hear this too," he said, "I'll meet you there."

"Wait a minute, how bad is she?"

"Really bad, like she'll die in the next few days if we don't get her to Red Alert stat."

Aurora's jaw dropped, "Oh my God…get her to him _now_! I'll go find Optimus."

Wing-Saber nodded and quickly continued on his way to the med bay. Aurora didn't watch him walk away as she swiftly headed towards Optimus's quarters. It felt like forever had gone by when she finally got to them, but when she did, she pounded on the door saying, "Optimus! Something really bad has happened; you need to let me in!"

The door opened immediately and Optimus seized her protectively in his arms, "What happened?"

"Wow you move fast," she breathed and then shook her head, "Something happened to Angelique, I don't know what, but she told Wing-Saber and he's taking her to the med bay right now. He wants us to meet him there so he can tell us what happened."

"Well then let's go," Optimus said in response and he nudged Aurora in the direction of the med bay, still holding her close to him with the arm he had wrapped around her, "Is she injured?"

Aurora sighed heavily and blinked away a couple of tears.

"Aurora?"

"I don't know…Wing-Saber just said if we didn't get her medical attention now she'd…" she couldn't finish.

Optimus gently rubbed a hand up and down her back, "Its okay Aurora."

She swallowed hard before saying, "He said she'd die in the next few days."

"By Primus's spark…what happened?!" he demanded.

"I don't know…Optimus…I'm worried to death about her."

He stopped walking and hugged her, "She's in Red Alert's hands now, she'll be alright. She'll pull through. Now come on, we need to go find out what happened."

Aurora nodded and they continued on their way to the med bay. When they finally got there, Wing-Saber greeted them in the waiting room saying, "We can't go in the med bay yet. Red Alert had to…strip her."

Aurora raised both eyebrows, "Why?"

"So he can assess the injuries."

"Just what happened to her Wing-Saber?" Optimus asked.

"One word," answered the Autobot subordinate, "Megatron."

Aurora slipped her hand into Optimus's and squeezed it. The Autobot leader gently squeezed hers back and growled, "What did he do?"

"He's been…torturing her and beating her for the past week sir. I ran a scan on her while I walked her over here and she's in terrible shape. Her body is absolutely covered in bruises, she's been starved, she's severely dehydrated, she's sick with a high fever, her muscles are strained and pulled, she's lost a ton of weight, she's got cuts and scratches all over the place—

"Not to mention split knuckles and three cracked ribs," came Red Alert's voice from the entrance of the doorway.

Wing-Saber, Optimus, and Aurora turned to him as Red Alert continued, "It's a _really _good thing you brought her to me when you did Wing-Saber. In another forty-eight to seventy-two hours she would've slipped into a coma or just collapsed dead."

Aurora's face paled, "Can we see her?"

"Yes of course, she's sleeping right now though. Oh and, she's still naked, I only have a blanket over her, so don't pull it down."

Aurora nodded and quickly proceeded inside the med bay ahead of Wing-Saber and Optimus. The rest of the Autobots went in the med bay after Aurora and they all took in Angelique. They could see the pain on her face even as she slept. Optimus balled his fists suddenly, "I'm going to go pay a visit to Megatron."

Wing-Saber looked to his leader, "But Optimus sir, I promised Angelique that I wouldn't let Megatron know that I brought her here. He told her that he would kill her if she told us what he was doing to her."

"He was killing her anyway!" he snapped back and Aurora put a hand on his arm to try and calm him down, "I hate it when innocent life is threatened…"

"We could keep a constant visual on her," Aurora stated, "Or just have Megatron thrown in prison for a little while."

Optimus's optics brightened, "You know, that might work."

"Might work?" Wing-Saber piped up, "Angelique told me that he had gone crazy, not that he wasn't crazy before, but he's even _worse_ now. If we lock him up, he might just completely lose himself."

Optimus turned to his well-trusted medic, "Red Alert, can you treat depression?"

"I can offer therapy," replied the medic, "Though I don't know how willing Megatron would be to take it from me."

Aurora laughed lightly, "Megatron in rehab…reminds me of a certain song by Amy Winehouse."

Wing-Saber shook his head, "Even so I doubt it'd work."

"Perhaps we should let Angelique decide his punishment," Aurora suggested, "After all, she was his victim."

Optimus nodded, "That's only fair."

"What's only fair?" came a tired and hoarse voice from the medical bed suddenly.

Everyone turned to look at Angelique who was looking at them with a tired and confused look on her face. Aurora immediately went to her sister's side, "Angelique, what are you doing awake? You need your rest and—

"Oh for the love of God I hate it when you worry about me," Angelique stated frowning.

Aurora only smiled, "Well I am your only sister and I have every right to. Now, are you feeling okay?"

"I feel like I've been run over by a fire engine five million times," replied the sister weakly, "Uh…no offense Optimus."

He smirked crossing his arms, "None taken. Sorry if we woke you."

"It's alright, there's such thing as freedom of speech. What was it you guys were talking about?"

"How to punish Megatron," Wing-Saber answered, taking her hand in his and lightly rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand, "We've narrowed it down to two options, either we imprison him for a little while or we send him to rehab for his depression. And we want you to decide the course of action."

Angelique pondered it for a moment, "I say we do both."

Aurora nodded, "Excellent thinking, if we do both, we don't have to worry about Megatron growing ever more insane in prison and he'll have no choice but to accept the therapy."

"The only thing is," Red Alert spoke up suddenly, "The therapy has to come from someone who actually _would_ affect his thinking and emotions, someone that he is well acquainted with and who he trusts."

"But Megatron doesn't trust anyone…" Wing-Saber trailed off.

"No, and I certainly wouldn't count on his own minions to completely change his thoughts and feelings since they don't care about him as is," elucidated the Autobot medic, "We need someone who cares about Megatron, someone who _wants_ to change him and someone who is enthusiastic to help him."

And all optics and eyes turned to Angelique who looked back at the ones looking at her saying, "Me? You want me to do it? He nearly _killed_ me!"

"I don't approve," Wing-Saber spoke flatly.

Optimus sighed heavily, "Wing-Saber, Red Alert has a point, and I do believe that Angelique is the only one who cares strongly enough for Megatron to actually help him. And this needs to be done so that we don't have to worry about Megatron coming after anyone else." His gaze shifted briefly to Aurora before he returned it to his subordinate.

Wing-Saber growled as he led Optimus into the waiting room of the med bay so that nobody else could hear their conversation, "Sir, I don't want to lose her!"

"I understand that Wing-Saber," Optimus said, "And if this therapy works Megatron and Angelique are more than likely to develop a very strong bond together…"

"Just what are you saying?" hissed the Autobot.

Optimus sighed heavily, "Wing-Saber, I hate to tell you this, but I think it would be wise that you…ended your relationship with her."

Wing-Saber's optics widened before he narrowed them in outrage, "Optimus Prime! Just what in the name of Primus would make you say such a thing as that?! She cares about me and I care about her. She told me tonight that she wanted me, she accepted my presence, she confided in me and not her sister…and I promised her that I would be there for her and protect her. You cannot take this away from me!"

"Wing-Saber," spoke the Autobot leader softly, "Not once did you mention love."

"That's because we haven't grown to love each other yet, Optimus, love takes time!"

"End it then, before the love comes."

"Why?" demanded the enraged Autobot.

"Her feelings are not with you."

Wing-Saber was left hurt, speechless, enraged, and confused as Optimus walked back into the medical bay. He didn't want to lose Angelique; she was all he had…wasn't she?

* * *

Once back inside the med bay, Optimus wrapped an arm around Aurora and said, "You need to get some sleep, little one. I will deal with Megatron in the morning."

"Is Angelique going to give Megatron therapy?"

"Yes, Red Alert, while she is here in the med bay, perhaps you could give her instruction on how to do so."

Red Alert nodded, "As you wish sir. But not tonight, she needs her rest as I do mine."

Optimus nodded, "Alright."

And after a quick goodnight, Aurora and Optimus departed together from the med bay and after making sure the sleeping Angelique was in stable condition, he headed to his quarters that were just off to the back of the med bay behind a set of doors.

He completely neglected to lock the doors to the med bay.

* * *

So, I left a little cliffie there for you guys to "enjoy."

Teaser for the next chapter: Red Alert shows something to Aurora that he has labeled as top secret...

Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and would be so kind as to leave a review. Thankies!


	12. New Faces

It's amazing how school zaps everybody of their time...and not to mention it's highly frustrating. Anyways, here's this chapter, I tried to make it long because it maybe well over a month before I can update this story again. Plus my mom has been freaking out lately and taking away my computer privaleges from time to time...I hate it, but please bear with me.

* * *

**Chapter 12: New Faces**

Megatron was more than outraged when he called Angelique the next morning only to not receive a response. He figured she had done away with the device again, like she had flushed it down the toilet that one time, but oh she had paid so dearly for that. And if that were the case, he'd make her pay ever so dearly again. Even if it meant killing her.

Silently, he got up from his throne and made his way to Angelique's room, biding his time as he did so. He was in no hurry to see her, but then again he could hardly wait to punish her, to see that look of pain and hate in her eyes once again…

He got to her room quicker than he had expected and he watched as the door hissed open. The Decepticon leader was a bit startled by this; the last time he had to wake Angelique up he had to break into her room…had she left the door unlocked? Biting back the confusion that was beginning to gnaw at him, he entered the room and glanced around. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. Slowly he made his way back to where her bed was only to find it wrinkled and empty.

"What's this?" he exclaimed in a breath.

Megatron considered that she had run away, but as he thought about it, he knew that she didn't have the strength to do so. He scanned the room looking for her energy signature but he did not find it. Quite clearly she was not in the room. Megatron scowled suddenly thinking, _"Oh she better not have told anybody what I've been doing."_ And he quickly left the room heading in the direction of the medical bay. He knew that if Angelique had told anyone what he was doing to her that the first place she would be taken was the med bay. And if she was there, there was going to be hell to pay. It didn't take him long to get to the med bay, and when he got there he half-expected the door to be locked…but it wasn't. It was only locked if there were a patient inside overnight. Megatron was just about to turn away and look elsewhere when the doors suddenly hissed open and he detected Angelique's energy signature. His lips curled into a wicked smile and he sauntered inside, the doors hissing shut behind him and clicking, locked.

Red Alert's private quarters were located off from the med bay, Megatron knew this as well as anyone, and to prevent the Autobot medic from interfering while he collected his human, he went over to the keypad and smashed it, causing an immediate lockdown of the door. The only way it could be opened now was either by the keypad being fixed, or the door being blasted down. He huffed smugly after breaking the door and went over to the bedside where Angelique was still sound asleep.

Megatron gazed at her sleeping form; she indeed looked better this morning. He wasn't exactly sure what Red Alert had given to her, but whatever it was, it was working. Some of the color had returned to her face, but then again his scans were still saying she had a fever and other injuries. But he didn't care. She was still alive and functioning, so she was still capable of being trained…and killed.

He sighed and reached for the blanket that was covering her.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

Megatron looked up surprised as Aurora suddenly walked into the medical bay. He frowned, "How did you get in here? I had the door locked."

"I know how to override the lock system. And I came here early thinking that you might go looking for her," Aurora answered gesturing towards Angelique.

"You came alone?" Megatron inquired.

"Yes."

"You humans are so foolish."

Aurora merely shrugged, "Get away from my sister."

"Like you can stop me," he remarked and grasped the edge of the blanket in his hand.

Aurora's eyes widened, "Megatron, don't you dare pull that blanket off her she's—

But he pulled it off her anyway, optics widening as he saw her nude body. He was too stunned to return the blanket, let alone remove his gaze from her flesh. All those bruises on that fragile body…that soft and precious body. His optics roamed it; he had never seen anything quite like it before. All he had seen for bodies was metal and wires…but human flesh, oh it was so different. He felt his systems begin to overheat from his curiosity and surprise. Plump, well-rounded breasts, a thin enough waist, such long legs…

The blanket was ripped from his hand and placed back over the still sleeping Angelique, snapping the Decepticon leader from his momentary trance. He looked up at Aurora who was crossing her arms.

"Why didn't you tell me she was naked?" he asked irritated.

"I _tried_ to before you took the blanket off of her. But if you're quite finished playing peek-a-boo then get out of here!"

Megatron, still dazed from seeing Angelique naked, was barely able to recollect his bearings, but he did and he walked over to Aurora. Grabbing her by the collar of her shirt he said, "I've had enough of you interfering." And he threw her into the wall behind him with a lot of force, hoping that it would knock her out.

There was a dull thump and a small groan escaped her lips as he heard her body slump to the floor. He turned to her briefly and saw that she was seated, propped up against the wall, clutching her shoulder.

"You're a word I'm not allowed to say," Aurora said as she slowly climbed back up to her feet.

Megatron frowned and began walking back over to her when suddenly there was a gasp from the bed. "Oh my God, Megatron what are you doing in here?!" came Angelique's startled and strained voice.

He turned back to her with a smirk on his face, "I see my naked human is awake."

"How…do you know that I'm…naked?" stammered the teenager, pulling the blanket about her as she slightly sat up.

"The frickin' pervert looked," Aurora said answering her question.

Angelique's cheeks were consumed in an embarrassed blush and she groaned as she laid back, pulling the blanket over her head. Megatron lightly chuckled at her reaction and nearly smacked Aurora when she added, "Don't worry Angelique, he obviously liked what he saw because he wouldn't stop staring."

"I don't care," she whined, "Everybody just get out so I can get up and go pee."

Megatron snorted, "I'll deal with you some other time Aurora." And he proceeded to walk over to Angelique. He noticed another blanket beneath her and decided that would work to his advantage. Sliding the pillow out from under her head he said, "You're coming with me human."

"Go away or I'll pee on you."

Megatron's optics widened. Aurora was just as shocked as she exclaimed, "Wow Angelique…I didn't know you cared to mark him as your territory."

"Shut up Aurora and just get help."

"Oh no, that won't be happening," Megatron remarked as he turned to Aurora, his fist glowing with electricity.

Aurora took a couple wary steps back and ended up bumping into the wall that Megatron had thrown her against earlier. She swallowed hard…why in her right mind had she come here alone?

"Megatron stand down!" boomed another voice suddenly.

Both Aurora and Megatron looked over to see Optimus standing there. Aurora was relieved to see him and Megatron scowled, "Prime…"

"Megatron, you're under arrest," spoke the Autobot leader as he stepped further into the room.

Megatron's fist stopped glowing and he smirked, amused, "Under arrest? Don't make me laugh Optimus."

"I'm not joking Megatron," Optimus said as he produced a pair of stasis cuffs from his subspace and quickly apprehended the Decepticon leader.

Megatron was helpless as Optimus pulled his arms behind his back and fastened the stasis cuffs around his wrists. His CPU was reeling, trying to figure out what was going on, "You can't arrest me Prime!"

"It's too late Megatron, we know what you've done to Angelique, and we can't have that happening anymore."

Everyone could here the desperation in the Decepticon leader's voice; he was too stunned to struggle against Optimus. Angelique coughed suddenly and groaned, "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Oh crap," breathed Aurora and then she turned to Optimus saying, "You need to get him out of here _right_ now."

Optimus nodded and escorted Megatron into the waiting room. As soon as they were gone, Angelique sat up, wrapped the blanket around her naked body and said with urgency in her voice as she quickly started walking over to the bathroom, "Get me some clothes please…I need to get to the bathroom."

Aurora barely had time to nod as Angelique disappeared inside of it, the doors closing behind her. She walked out into the waiting room and Optimus noticed her and asked, "Is Angelique alright?"

"Well…she made it to the bathroom."

"What did she mean when she said she was going to be sick?" Optimus asked confused.

"She was going to vomit."

"Is she getting worse?"

"I…I don't know."

Megatron smirked, and Optimus noticed, "You didn't do anything to her did you?"

"Of course not."

"If you excuse me I'm going to go get her some clothes," Aurora stated and ran off to Angelique's room.

Optimus watched her as she ran out and then looked to Megatron saying, "What did you do to her shoulder?"

"What makes you think I did something to it?"

"She was clutching it when I got here…and she hasn't moved it since."

"I didn't do anything."

"Sure you didn't, I'll find out from her when she gets back."

"Do as you wish Prime."

"You have a serious attitude problem, one that will be corrected while you are in prison."

"What do you mean?" Megatron asked a bit startled.

"You'll be getting some therapy."

"Therapy!" he nearly choked on the word, "Therapy for what?!"

"Your depression and Angelique will be giving it to you."

Megatron scowled, "I bet she talked you into this whole thing."

"Actually she didn't want to give you therapy. She's afraid of you Megatron, you've done so much to hurt her, I don't know why she still cares about you."

"She's a fool," he scoffed.

"You shouldn't be so harsh to the people that care about you…you may regret it in the end."

"She won't change me, she won't change anything."

"You're not leaving the prison until you can be trusted."

It was then Megatron struggled to break free from Optimus. He knew he would never be trusted, not by any of the Autobots anyway, but then again, did his own minions even trust him? Did he even trust himself? And why was he questioning himself now? When the war was going on he never questioned himself like this…but when the war was raging he didn't have time to think about his actions. Oh just who was he now? He had nothing to show for what he had done, absolutely nothing! He ceased his struggling as quickly as he had started it.

"_Why now? Why am I doubting myself?"_ he screamed in his mind.

"Megatron?"

"Leave me alone, Prime."

* * *

Angelique felt nauseous all over again as she stared into the toilet at what had escaped her stomach. Things she had heard about in Biology class but forgotten were suddenly dawning upon her now. She quickly flushed the toilet and used what energy she had to propel herself over to the sink where she looked her face over carefully in the mirror above the sink. She figured she looked as normal as she could for being sick and abused. She glanced back to the toilet thinking she had just imagined it, that she was just overreacting. She swallowed heavily, the taste of iron filling her mouth and she grimaced. But as she grimaced, she caught a glimpse of her teeth in the mirror…her teeth were stained red.

"_Oh my God,"_ she thought as she suddenly found herself kneeling, leaning against the sink, _"I just threw up blood."_

Her first thought was that she had Ebola, a virus that causes the linings of bodily organs and vessels to leak blood, most often resulting in death. She had watched a movie about Ebola in Biology class, and now she was scared to death. But then, if she had Ebola, her blood would be escaping out of other areas as well, she wouldn't just be throwing it up…she'd be crying it out, it'd be coming out of her nose, ears, any possible way the blood could get out. But why was she throwing up her blood?

"_I just threw up once…I'll be okay now. It was probably just a…a bad batch of blood anyways."_

She scratched at her arm where she had an itch and after a few minutes of scratching at the same spot she finally looked down only to see that area of skin was peeling right off, she had gone straight through a few layers of her skin and rather deep into her arm and she jumped, startled at what she had done. And then the back of her neck started itching, along with her right inner thigh, her other arm, and her face. And her arm where she had already scratched some of the skin off was still really itchy. But she didn't dare scratch herself.

Thinking quickly she jumped in the shower that was in the bathroom and turned on the hot water, allowing it to pour over her as she quickly scrubbed her skin with soap and then her hair with shampoo and then conditioner. When she finished, she got out and dried herself off…but her skin was burning with the need to be scratched. She wrapped the towel tightly about herself, squeezing her eyes shut to keep herself from itching.

There was a soft knock on the door followed by Aurora's soft voice saying, "Angelique, can I come in?"

Angelique turned sharply to the door and opened it herself. She grabbed her sister by the collar of her shirt and ushered in a frantic whisper, "Something's happening to me!"

"Why, what's wrong?"

"I-I really don't know but I'm itching like crazy, but when I scratch myself my skin peels off and I threw up blood before you came and I just don't know what's going on!" stated the teen hyperventilating.

Aurora grasped hold of Angelique's shoulders saying, "Angelique? Angelique look at me."

Angelique looked her sister square in the eye as Aurora continued, "Calm down alright? We'll get Red Alert and have him take a look at you to make sure everything is okay."

Angelique nodded slowly, "Did you get my clothes?"

"Of course, and I ran into Wing-Saber along the way and he's outside currently giving Megatron an audio receptor full."

The girl smiled, "That's good. I was going to ask you to go get him if he wasn't here."

"Helpless, helpless, helpless," Aurora sighed as she handed her sister her clothes and exited the bathroom. She glanced over to Red Alert's quarter's wondering what was keeping the medic and that was when she saw the smashed keypad.

Knowing that it was Megatron's work, Aurora went over the keypad and saw how smashed it was. Knowing that she couldn't repair it, Aurora shouted, "Red Alert, just blast the door down!"

"I hate to waste a perfectly good door though," was his muffled response.

"Well, you're just going to have to get a new one since Angelique is in need of medical assistance."

"Alright, but stand clear."

Aurora moved out of the way while Red Alert proceeded to break the door down with a loud thump. A surprised Angelique emerged from the bathroom fully dressed and hair wet…but she seemed to calm down when she saw Red Alert. He looked her over briefly before saying, "Why don't you get your hair dried? Things will be much easier if it is."

Angelique nodded and headed back into the bathroom to dry her hair.

Red Alert looked to Aurora, "She appears rather active this morning. What has you so concerned?"

"She told me she threw up blood."

"That could mean a number of things."

"Like what?" Aurora questioned.

"She ingested blood, but I highly doubt that…but she could have a peptic ulcer, internal inflammation, or cancer."

Aurora's pupils dilated, "C-Cancer?"

"I ran numerous scans on her last night and didn't find any, the same goes with the ulcer. My guess is internal inflammation."

"She also told me that she was really itchy and that her skin peeled off whenever she scratched it."

Red Alert gave her a confused look, "She's shedding her skin?"

"Maybe it's just a bad case of dry skin," Aurora stated.

"Perhaps," responded the medic as he mused. He went over to the bed where Angelique had slept and straightened it up a bit so that he could get right to work on her when she finished drying her hair.

About ten minutes went by before Angelique did emerge from the bathroom; hair dried, and went back over to her bed where Red Alert was waiting. She glanced at the medic as she sat down on the bed and finally said, "I don't know if this is good or not, but I got scratching myself so hard this happened." And she held up her arm only to show a small flab of skin hanging off.

"That's so disgusting," Aurora shivered, repulsed.

Red Alert examined her arm carefully…there was no blood, there was no exposed bone like there should have been, there was no muscle tissue beneath, just more skin. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

Angelique shook her head no. The Autobot medic then instructed her to lie back so he could perform a few scans on her. He ran one scan and read the results when they came, pursing his lips to the side in disgust after he read them over. He then ran another scan, and he had the same reaction when he received the results. Finally, he tried one more scan, and it wasn't long before he was reading over the results again. However, a shocked look over took his face this time and he immediately turned to Aurora saying, "Get Optimus."

"W-Why, what's wrong?" Aurora stammered.

"I'll explain when he gets here," Red Alert said.

Angelique watched her sister leave the room and then she looked to the Autobot medic asking, "Do I have Ebola?"

"No…I'm not sure why you would think that."

Angelique sighed in relief as Optimus emerged from the waiting room, towing Megatron along with him. Wing-Saber went to Angelique's bedside and broke the silence demanding, "What's wrong now?"

"Well, seeing that Megatron is here this might just be easier to explain."

Wing-Saber shot the Decepticon leader a glare, "What did you do to her now?"

Red Alert didn't give Megatron the chance to answer as he continued, "All of us here know the strenuous torture Megatron's inflicted upon Angelique the past few days. It appears the Decepticon programming he gave her tried to come to her ailing body's defense."

"Just what are you saying?" Megatron questioned annoyed at how Red Alert wasn't getting to the point.

"There was a reaction between her body and the programming," Red Alert explained, "She's not human anymore."

"WHAT?!" Angelique exclaimed and then looked to Megatron who was looking at her with an equally surprised expression upon his face. She glared at him, "You evil little…monkey!"

He glared right on back, "Monkey?! You know how much I despise monkeys don't you?!"

"Thus the insult," Angelique sighed and slid her hand into Wing-Saber's.

"Angelique is going to be undergoing some changes, so I'm going to have to ask all of you to leave, with the exception of you Aurora."

Optimus looked to Wing-Saber, "Help me get Megatron down to the prison."

"Yes sir," Wing-Saber sighed, not wanting to leave Angelique's side.

The girl noticed and sat up on the bed saying, "Wait Wing-Saber, I want a hug and stuff before you go."

The Autobot looked to her with a wide grin on his face, "Come here my princess."

She stood from the bed and he seized her in his arms, holding her tightly yet gently against him as he breathed into her ear, "I'll be back by your side the moment I can be."

"I love you Wing-Saber."

Optimus turned his attention to the couple when he heard Angelique usher those words…had she really meant them? Was Angelique and Wing-Saber's bond stronger than what he had thought it to be?

Wing-Saber grinned looking down at her, "I've been waiting a really long time to hear you say that." And he kissed her.

Optimus watched as the Decepticon leader noticeably stiffened and a scowl appeared on his face. He growled, "Get you mouth components off my human, Autobot."

Aurora crossed her arms defiantly, "She's not a human anymore, therefore she's not yours."

Megatron shot her a glare and growled, "As soon as I'm free, I'm coming after both you and your sister."

"I don't think so," Optimus intervened and then looked to Wing-Saber saying, "Wing-Saber, enough, let's go."

"Uh, yes sir." Wing-Saber replied hesitantly pulling slowly away from Angelique and turning to help Optimus take Megatron down to the prison.

When the two Autobots and the Decepticon had left the room, Red Alert turned to Angelique and asked, "Are you still itchy?"

"Yes, very much so."

"Well then, start scratching. I guess the sooner your skin comes off, the better."

"Alright," she replied, heading for the bathroom, "But there's no way I'm itching like a monkey in front of you guys." And she disappeared inside, the door closing behind her.

Aurora turned to Red Alert and asked, "Do you think she's going to need any help?"

"You can check in on her from time to time," Red Alert answered.

"Alright, but was that the only reason you wanted me to stay?"

"No, it wasn't. You see, Optimus told me about your interest in technology and becoming an engineer. I was wondering if you wanted me to show you a thing or two to help better your skills."

Aurora's eyes widened, "Really? That'd be totally awesome!"

Red Alert smiled at her eagerness, "Alright, I'll start by showing you three projects I've been working on."

"Okay."

He led her over to three operating tables that were in the back of the med bay, each one covered by sheets. Red Alert instructed her to remove the sheets, which she did and was startled by what she saw. There before her laid the inactivated bodies of three transformers, obviously femmes. "Wow Red Alert," mused Aurora, "What are they for?"

"I figured since only Override and Thunderblast are the only femmes around some of the men around here might appreciate more femmes."

"I see, wow, how are you going to get them online?"

"Well, they need sparks, and I am unsure of how to create one, let alone three."

"Have any ideas?"

"I was thinking about the Matrix of Leadership, but there's no way I could get it from Optimus to study it."

"Perhaps I could talk to him."

"That would be appreciated. I've done some research on it, it seems that if fragments are taken from the center of the Matrix that those fragments can bloom into sparks, but I don't know if that's true or not."

"But you'd like to test the theory to be sure?"

"Yes, it's a scientist's duty to test theories, interesting ones at least."

"Have you named them?"

"No I haven't, do you have any suggestions?"

Aurora looked the three femmes over, "Angelique would be better at naming them then I would be."

But nonetheless, Aurora went to the bedside of the first femme and looked her over carefully. The femme's main colors were black, silver, and sky blue. Her optics were a very deep and beautiful shade of royal blue. Helicopter rotors folded down her back; clearly a helicopter was her alternate mode. As Aurora looked the femme over, she couldn't help but be reminded of a shadow and the sky all at once. That's when she smirked and said, "I think her name should be Sky-Shadow."

"Appropriate," Red Alert agreed with a nod.

Aurora then turned to the next femme, who was noticeably different than the first. This femme was red, white, and black with deep vermillion optics. From the wheels on the femme's hips and legs Aurora could tell she transformed into some type of car, but from the red crosses on her armor Aurora figured she was some type of an emergency vehicle. _"Oh…"_ thought Aurora, _"Red Alert must either be saving this femme for himself or he would like another medic."_

"Is she going to be a medic?"

Red Alert gave a small smile, "If she chooses to be."

"That's fair…but I'm not really sure what to call her at the moment." And Aurora turned to the last femme.

This femme's main colors were white, black, and yellow. Her optics were a luscious shade of emerald, and from the wings that protruded from her back, she could tell that she was a seeker. And Aurora couldn't help but be reminded of Wing-Saber when she looked at the femme. "Let's have Angelique take a look at these two, she can help decide."

Red Alert nodded, "Alright. Why don't you go check on her to see how she's doing?"

Aurora gave a small grown, "She probably has skin all over the place though."

The Autobot medic crossed his arms and gave her a threatening look causing Aurora to shrink back a bit and say, "Okay, okay, I'll go check on her." And Aurora headed over to the bathroom.

* * *

Angelique sighed as she scratched the remaining skin off of her foot. She felt so disgusted as she looked at the pile of skin she had left on the floor…the bruised skin. When she peeled the skin off, the bruises had peeled off right along with her skin, leaving her looking healthy again. But the hair had peeled right off her arms and legs as well when she removed her skin, leaving her new skin feeling softer. It had been the hardest removing the skin from her face and scalp…but she managed to do so, and was horrified when her eyebrows, eyelashes, and her hair peeled off with her skin. She was scared to death to step outside of the bathroom; she didn't even want to look at herself in the mirror.

She glanced at her new skin, running a hand up her arm. It felt different, but it still felt like flesh, the old flesh she used to have anyway. Sighing, she knew she would have to look in the mirror at some point and figured she may as well do it now. She stepped in front of it, eyes squeezed shut and finally, she persuaded herself to open one. Angelique let a huge sigh of relief pass her lips when she saw that she still had hair on her head, along with eyebrows and eyelashes. It was the same color it had been, nothing looked new about her, or at least from what she could tell. She just kind of looked…different.

There was a soft knock on the door followed by Aurora's voice saying, "How are things going in there Angelique?"

"Just fine," Angelique called back, "I'll be out in a second, just let me get my clothes back on."

"Right…I really didn't care to know you were naked."

Angelique didn't reply as she quickly slipped back into her clothes. Not sure what to do with the skin, she just left it as she exited the bathroom. Both Aurora and Red Alert looked over to her and Angelique asked, "What do you want me to do with my…erm…skin?"

"I'll take care of it," Red Alert answered, "I see your bruises are gone."

"Yeah, I feel great," the girl stated, "I guess shedding my skin helped a lot."

"Well, even if you feel great it doesn't mean you're one-hundred percent. I still have to confirm that," said the medic.

"Until then," Aurora intervened, "Red Alert created some femmes and wants our help with naming them."

Angelique's eyes widened, "Really? I want to see!"

Aurora led her sister over to where the femmes were and Angelique browsed over them, captivated by what she saw. After a few moments she asked, "Have you named any of them yet?"

"Just this one," Aurora answered pointing to the blue, black, and silver femme.

"What's her name?"

"Sky-Shadow."

"Aww, it's perfect. What about this one?" Angelique questioned, gesturing towards the red, black, and white femme.

"Well, I was thinking something medical because of the red crosses on her."

"Okay then…what about Aide?"

Aurora crinkled her nose at the suggestion and Angelique chuckled and said, "Alright, Red Cross then."

"Ha, ha, very funny. What about Syndrome?"

"Hmmm," Angelique mused, "I like that."

"I do too," Aurora replied, "Syndrome it is then. Is that alright with you Red?"

Red Alert nodded and the girls turned there attention to the last femme. Angelique pursed her lips to the side as she looked the femme over and finally crossed her arms, "Lynk."

"What?" Aurora asked.

"Her name shall be Lynk."

"Why?"

"Because…I said so and I can't think of anything else to call her."

"Alright," Aurora sighed, giving into her sister, "So it's Sky-Shadow, Syndrome, and Lynk."

"Sounds beautiful to me, what about you Red Alert?"

"Appropriate. Alright, Angelique let me run a couple scans on you just to make sure you're functioning properly. Then you need to stick around so I can give you some lessons on giving therapy to Megatron."

Angelique couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Megatron in rehab but said to Red Alert, "As you command." And she followed the Autobot medic to the examination area of the medical bay.

Aurora took one last good look at the femmes before she covered them back up. It would be interesting to see what would happen with them if they came alive. She wondered if any of the transformers would take them as mates. Aurora froze for a second, what if Megatron took one of these femmes as a mate? Angelique would be devastated sure, but maybe all the Decepticon leader was looking for was a little love from his own kind…the girl shook her head. Megatron was definitely not the type to be looking for love. And none of these femmes would be getting mates if they weren't brought online.

"_Looks like I got a little negotiating to do with Optimus."_

And so ends this chapter. (sighs) Just before I got done proof reading it my mother walked in my room and said she was going to be taking my computer away from me. And then she added, "And you can tell your readers about your damn old mother too." I'm not sure what I did to deserve this...but I'll update whenever I get the next chance. Please review, your reviews mean a lot to me, thankies.

* * *


	13. Therapy Part I

Well, I thought I was going to have more time this weekend, but unexpected things came up...so I apologize that I only had time to write a chapter for this story...unless you like this story. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy it, I don't know when I'll update again (maybe Christmas).

* * *

**Chapter 13: Therapy Part I**

Aurora yawned as she turned the channel, flicking a button on the remote. She sat on the couch in the hangout, bored to death, even though she had not planned for this summer to be boring, especially considering the transformers toys she and her sister owned had come to life. She sighed heavily and let a small growl emit from her throat, frustration setting in as she realized there was nothing to watch on television either. Irritated, she flicked the television off and tossed the remote beside her onto the couch, trying to think of something to do. She could bowl, but bowling had gotten a little boring considering she had done nothing but that the past few days. It was rather unsettling in her mind that she would have to resort to resuming her summer homework for her Advanced Placement classes, but she knew it would have to be done at some point…

But still there was no use in getting up and doing it that moment. She spent an hour each night, when she got the chance, reading her AP Biology book, along with her AP Literature novels, but they didn't seem to end, no matter how much time she spent reading them. Sure the transformers had been quite a distraction, but how much work could you expect a student to do over their vacation? Their _well earned_ vacation for that matter.

Aurora slouched down into the couch, resting her head on the back of it so that she was staring straight up at the ceiling. "There's got to be something to do," she groaned, desperation settling in. She couldn't bother her sister since she was busy giving Megatron therapy or getting lessons from Red Alert, one of the two, Aurora wasn't sure which. It had been a few days since the whole incident where they had discovered Megatron had accidentally turned Angelique into some sort of gynoid…except she was more human than gynoid. She only had a spark…with mechanical insides; she still looked and acted like a human.

But Aurora didn't care. She figured she could bother Optimus, but he was probably busy handling the Decepticons—who had grown quite rowdy since Megatron had been imprisoned—or he was doing paperwork. Whatever he was doing, Aurora figured she shouldn't bother him. Although, she had promised Red Alert that she would talk to Optimus about letting the medic borrow his Matrix of Leadership for a little while…

She figured those talks might be fruitless; that even though Red Alert was trusted implicitly by the Autobot leader, what reason did Optimus have to submit the Matrix of Leadership to the medic for studying? What if Red Alert, by some sheer happenstance, did something wrong while he was studying the Matrix…and damaged it, or worse, destroyed it? Aurora figured that was pretty much impossible, but then again she wasn't sure she should underestimate the impossible. She needed to talk with Optimus…or someone, anyone before she went insane.

Aurora got up from the couch and smoothed the wrinkles out that were in her shirt. Optimus usually made time for her whenever she went to see him, so she figured it wouldn't hurt her to try and see him now. Once she had finished collecting herself, she left the hangout and headed towards Optimus' office, taking her time as she walked. There really was no rush to get there, even though she highly enjoyed whatever time she spent with him. He always knew how to bring a smile to her face, even when he was the one feeling down and not her.

It wasn't long before Aurora reached the Autobot commander's office door. She swallowed a bit nervously and then softly rapped her knuckles across the door. After a few moments, she heard Optimus' voice behind the door ask, "Who is it?"

Aurora smiled, "Your one and only."

She could hear the smile in his voice as he replied, "Enter."

Aurora stepped forward and the doors hissed open. Walking into the Autobot leader's office, she saw that Optimus was seated at his desk doing paperwork. Noticing this she stopped her advance into the room and said, "If you're busy I'll leave."

Optimus shook his head and gestured to the chair that was in front of his desk, "No, it's fine. I need a break anyways."

"Well, if you say so," Aurora replied and walked over to the chair that Optimus had gestured to and took a seat in it, "How's your morning been?"

Optimus groaned, "Dull…to the Nth degree. What about yours?"

"Pretty much the same, nothing was on TV so I decided to come bother you instead."

"I feel honored."

"You should," Aurora replied and then hesitated before asking, "Can your Matrix grant life?"

Optimus glanced up at her from his paperwork with a skeptical look planted in his golden optics, "It can, but only with my jurisdiction."

"Well…would you ever let anybody study it?"

"It depends on what kind of studying they plan to do," Optimus remarked, giving his full attention to Aurora, "Why do you ask?"

"Because Red Alert wants to borrow it for studying purposes."

"And how do you know this?"

"He told me."

Optimus pursed his lips to the side contemplating this, "Does he plan on granting life to something? Scientists usually like to test their theories to make sure they work."

Aurora felt a slight blush on her cheeks knowing that she couldn't keep anything from the Autobot leader, "Well yeah…pretty much."

"Just who, if I may ask, does Red Alert plan on granting life to?"

The girl figured there wasn't any use in telling a lie…after all, this was the leader of the Autobots she was talking to, he would more than likely find out if she were telling a lie. She would just have to deal with Red Alert's temper if that's what it came down to. "He created three femmes, but each one of them lacks life. I think he did it to create more of a…female influence around the base and allow some of the guys here to select mates."

"He has a just reason."

"So you'll let him borrow it?"

"Maybe, I would like to see his creations first though, and I would like a thorough explanation from Red Alert as well."

"In that case, you didn't hear any word of this from me."

Optimus gave a small smile, "Well, just who then am I going to say I heard this information from?"

"Um…Angelique since she kind of knows about the femmes too. She and I named them; they're Sky-Shadow, Syndrome, and Lynk."

"I see…well I will further discuss this matter with Red Alert. Has your sister started Megatron's therapy yet?"

Aurora shrugged, "Not that I know of. I think she's been putting it off."

"Well, I need Megatron out of prison."

Aurora was tempted to do a double take of the Autobot leader, "Out of prison?! He's only been in there for a few days."

"He does a better job than I do at keeping his men in line."

"Thunderblast isn't a man."

"Well, she doesn't really count then. She and Thundercracker have been rather—

"You don't need to say it; I don't want the image in my head."

Optimus chuckled, "Alright, that's fair. It's not a very pleasant image anyway."

"I can imagine, and I don't want to imagine it," Aurora replied, "But anyways, I guess I'll go find my sister and get her down to see Megatron. The sooner she cures his depression the sooner you can get some stress off your shoulders."

He smiled, "That would be nice. But do you really think Megatron is depressed?"

"Why wouldn't he be? He has nothing."

Optimus smile turned into a frown. He hadn't really thought about it that way. The war had been Megatron's everything, it got him through each day in the past, but now that it was over…just what did he have that was worth living for? Aurora was right; the Decepticon leader didn't have anything. No dreams, no ambitions, no fun, no friends, no lover, only nothing. What comfort could he draw from nothing? Absolutely none…

The Autobot leader clearly saw how he could take nothing in his life for granted; he had many great friends, he had dreams and hopes, and he had love…Optimus looked up at Aurora and asked her, "How much does your sister love Megatron?"

"More than what she feels for Wing-Saber, more than me I'm quite sure…and more than herself."

"But, why?"

Aurora shrugged, "She used to like you, but then her mindset changed a lot. She grew up loving him. I thought she would grow out of it at some point, but she never has. It's just one of those things that can't be explained."

"How would you feel if Megatron accepted and reciprocated her feelings?"

Aurora wanted to laugh at that…but then she figured Optimus was serious. "I don't know," she replied, "I never thought they would get together, but I guess anything is possible."

"But how would you feel about it?"

"Just as long as she's happy I guess. But yeah, I'm going to go find her and get her to get her butt down to Megatron. I'll see you later Optimus."

The Autobot nodded, "That you will Aurora, until then."

Aurora gave him a small smile before leaving the room to find her sister to make her start the therapy with Megatron. She wasn't sure where to look first, she figured she could head to the med bay since Angelique had been spending a lot of time the last few days getting lessons from Red Alert on therapy. Wing-Saber had been hovering around her a lot too, for safety precautions. He didn't want to risk anyone hurting her like Megatron had.

Aurora headed for the med bay, and it wasn't long before she got there and walked inside. As she had predicted, Angelique was in there with both Red Alert and Wing-Saber, getting lessons once again. She knocked softly on the door frame and cleared her throat, causing everyone to look over at her. A relieved look passed over Angelique's face as she exclaimed, "Hey Aurora, what brings you here?"

"When are you going to start with Megs?"

"You mean the therapy?"

"Yeah…what else would I mean?"

Angelique shrugged and said, "When I feel like it."

"Well just so you know, Optimus is getting really stressed out dealing with Megatron's men, so I think the sooner you got Megatron un-depressed the better."

Angelique pursed her lips to the side, "Un-depressed isn't a word."

"So what, it still works. Come on, I'll walk with you down to the prison."

The younger girl sighed, "That sounds so…inviting."

Wing-Saber glanced from Angelique to Aurora before saying, "Come on Aurora, don't make her do anything she isn't ready for yet. This is Megatron we're talking about after all."

"Well he might be willing to listen since he's spent the last few days staring at the walls of his prison cell with no one to talk to."

"It's his own fault for being in there," Wing-Saber balked.

"How do you expect him to get better if he's just rotting away?"

"At least he isn't bothering anybody."

"Optimus has been bothered by assuming his duties during his…absence."

Angelique rolled her eyes, "Alright, I'll head down. But if you hear a loud, ear-piercing, bloodcurdling scream, that's me, asking for help."

Wing-Saber shook his head, "I don't like the sounds of that. If you're not back in half an hour, I'm coming down there."

"Give her an hour," Red Alert stated.

"An hour?" both Wing-Saber and Angelique asked in unison.

Red Alert nodded, "Yes, if he's too frustrating, just leave."

"I guess that works," Angelique replied and then turned to Aurora, "Let's go."

The two girls left the med bay together and started walking down to the prison. For a while there was no talk between the girls, but finally Angelique sighed and said, "I don't know if I can do this."

"You'll be fine. Just remember Megatron is behind really strong prison bars and can't get to you."

"Yeah I guess."

"Don't worry about it. If you are able to work your magic, everything will be fine."

"I will try."

"I can walk in with you if you want."

"No I'll go by myself…if I have the guts."

Aurora gave her a small pat on the back, "Quit worrying about it. All you guys are going to do is talk."

"I guess."

"Lighten up; a few weeks ago you would've killed to be in this position. Live up the moment while you have it."

Angelique sighed heavily, "You're right. But don't tell Wing-Saber that."

After a few minutes of walking, the girls finally arrived at the prison. Before walking in, Angelique took a deep breath and said, "Wish me luck."

"I can wait here for you if you want."

"It's up to you," Angelique replied as she opened the door to the prison, "I'm just hoping that this doesn't go too terribly. I'd like to get him out of here."

"Well, Optimus wants him out too."

"Did he tell you that?"

"Yes, but I'll leave you alone."

"Alright, I'll catch up with you later."

Aurora nodded and walked away, figuring she'd go back and tell Optimus that she convinced her sister to start Megatron's therapy. She couldn't help but wonder if Optimus wanted to help Angelique win Megatron's affections, but then again she wasn't sure if the Autobot leader just didn't want to see Megatron suffer anymore. Whatever his opinions were on Angelique giving the Decepticon leader therapy, she knew that he would never do anything to put her sister in any sort of danger. Thus, she walked away not worried, knowing that the only harm Angelique may get would be from verbal harassment.

Angelique sighed heavily as she watched Aurora walk down the hallway before disappearing around a corner. She knew she would have had to do this at some point, she couldn't keep the Decepticon leader waiting forever…even though he kept her waiting and in the palm of his evil hand. He would have to get better, she would have to be there for him and make him somewhat trustworthy. But somehow she doubted she could make Megatron change, he was so hard bitten and uneager to listen…uneager to become something he was not. And Angelique was the only one who supposedly stood a chance at changing him. It was just her and Megatron now.

Knowing she couldn't just stand there looking after her sister forever, the girl walked into the prison, not bothering to prop the door open since she had the master key to the prison. She then headed deeper inside, a knot building in her abdomen as she scanned the jail cells, looking for Megatron's. A disgruntled expression crossed her face, _"Sure they give me the key but they don't bother to tell me what—_

"I assume you're trying to find me."

Angelique nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the Decepticon leader's voice suddenly boom out and fill the entire prison. She looked towards the end of the hall and saw a flash from his pale blue optics; it came from the last cell at the end of the hall. There was a bench against the opposite wall of his cell, and Angelique cautiously approached it before taking a seat on it and staring into Megatron's cell.

"What took you so long?" he demanded, "Prove your loyalty and let me go."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "I will let you go when I am darn good and ready to let you go."

He narrowed his optics this time, "You dare defy me?"

"Well yeah, considering you're in the cage and can't get to me."

Megatron scowled and turned away from her, obviously enraged. Through clenched teeth he asked, "What is your purpose here then if it isn't to free me?"

"To…talk."

"There's nothing that needs to be discussed."

"Yes there is."

"Enlighten me as to what that is."

"Your depression."

The Decepticon leader coughed out a laugh before turning back to Angelique, "Please spare me; I think Optimus sent you down here as some form of torture."

Angelique shook her head, "You know Optimus doesn't believe in torture. But he does believe you are, well, depressed."

"And just why does he think that?"

The girl shrugged, "I don't know, but I could name a few reasons based on my own personal theories."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah…but I'm not the one supposed to be revealing my thoughts, you are."

"As if I trust you enough to do that."

"Whatever we discuss will not be passed on to anyone else."

"If that's the case, tell me why you think I might be depressed."

Angelique figured she wouldn't be able to get him to talk unless she revealed her theories, so she decided to tell him. "Well," she began, "since the war was your life and since it is over now, you have nothing. You isolate yourself from the people that care about you, you don't have any friends, you probably don't have any ambitions right now, and you lack the essential purpose of life, to love."

He huffed, "I don't want that."

"Why not?"

"There's no point, from what I've seen it's just a waste of time that ends with one of the universe's greatest pains."

"Yeah but you get over it…kind of."

Megatron smirked, "Are you speaking from experience?"

"I didn't come here to discuss my love life I—

"Whoever he was, you didn't get over him," interrupted the Decepticon leader.

"It took awhile but I learned how to get by without him, I don't miss him but sometimes I wonder what would have happened if he hadn't said it's over…" Angelique paused a moment, feeling a tinge of pain as she thought about the ex-boyfriend and then looked to Megatron, who was still smirking. She frowned, "I don't want him back."

"What about Wing-Saber?"

"What about him?"

"It's quite obvious you two aren't going to last. Why do you even bother?"

"I didn't come down here to be interrogated by you. You're supposed to be answering my questions."

"I have been."

"Okay then, why are you depressed?"

"I'm not depressed."

"You're lying! I thought a few days of you sitting down here by yourself would soften you up a bit, but you haven't changed in the least!" exclaimed Angelique exasperated, "This is completely pointless! If you're not going to talk about it, then I'm leaving and I'm not coming back here."

He didn't say anything and simply stared her with an irate look in his optic.

She groaned, "Forget it! Forget I ever tried to help you, forget I cared, and forget the stupid crush I had on you all these years because you're just not worth it! You can sit here and rot and be miserable, I have better things to do with my life." And she got up to leave.

Infuriated, Megatron shot a bolt of the blue electricity from his hand, hitting Angelique dead on the mark. She slammed into the wall as Megatron grabbed hold of the bars to his cell and hissed venomously, "Let me out of here!"

She got up and looked at him, tears in her eyes, "Don't count on it." And she turned away and headed for the exit of the prison.

When she got outside, she didn't want to confront anybody, she simply wanted to go to her room…her room in her house and try to forget what had happened. But her luck was against her. Just as she rounded the corner to head for the exit she saw none other than her sister waiting there.

Aurora had gone to see Optimus, but he had sent her back to be there when Angelique came out, and from the look on her sister's face, Aurora knew something had gone wrong, "You're out early. What happened?"

Angelique tried unsuccessfully to hide the tears in her eyes and the shakiness in her voice, "I'm n-not going back in there."

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she replied and started walking away.

Aurora followed after her, keeping in step, "What did he say to hurt you?"

"It wasn't anything he said."

Aurora looked her sister over and her eyes widened when she noticed something, "You've been burned. Look at your shirt!"

Angelique glanced down at her shirt and saw a black scorch mark on her abdomen. She looked away from Aurora for a moment before she lifted her shirt up to see if her stomach had been burned, and indeed there was a red star shape burned onto her front. Aurora noticed, "What did he do?"

"You know that blue electric thingy he has that he shoots out of his fist?"

"Oh…crap, there's really no way we could get that away from him, I'm going to go tell Optimus what happened, but first I'm taking you to the med bay."

Angelique wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, managing to compose herself, "I'm fine, he shook me up more than anything."

"You should go to the med bay just incase."

"Look I was able to walk out of there after being slammed into the wall, I'll probably just be sore tomorrow."

"You're going to the med bay," Aurora growled, causing Angelique to step back a bit in caution.

"A-Alright," she agreed and started walking to the med bay, Aurora on her tail.

A few minutes later they walked into the med bay, Angelique first, followed by Aurora. Wing-Saber and Red Alert were still inside, and when the girls entered, they looked in their direction. Wing-Saber checked the time on his internal clock and then said, "You're back early."

Angelique glanced to her sister with a nervous look in her eye, Aurora nodded, and she turned back to Wing-Saber and said hesitantly, "It didn't go according to plan…at all."

"Why, what happened?"

"I forgot Megatron had that electric bolt thing he shoots from his hand."

Red Alert took a step forward, "I'm assuming he hit you with it, come here I'll run a quick examination on you to make sure your systems are functioning normally."

Angelique walked over to the medic; Wing-Saber clenched his fists when he noticed the scorch mark on Angelique's shirt. "What did he do?" the Autobot growled.

"He hit me with it…and I went flying back into the wall. Then I left," Angelique explained and then added after a brief pause, "And I'm not going back."

"Good."

Red Alert shook his head just as Aurora slipped out of the room to inform Optimus as to what was going on. "Angelique, somebody has to do something. I'll set up something to absorb his energy bursts when he tries to use them."

The girl shook her head, "I don't care, I can't get through to him, whenever I try to narrow it down as to what is making him depressed, he manages to twist my words and start interrogating me."

"You have to be persistent," Red Alert pressed, not about to give up his argument that she should continue with Megatron's therapy.

"Leave her alone Red Alert, if she doesn't want to do it, she doesn't have to," Wing-Saber remarked.

The Autobot medic sighed and proceeded to run a few scans on Angelique just to make sure her systems were functioning normally. When he concluded they were, he gave her a clean bill of health and said, "I really wish you would give Megatron another try."

Wing-Saber huffed.

The girl sighed heavily, "Maybe tomorrow, I'm going to go talk with Starscream, he might have a good theory as to why Megatron's so down in the dumps."

Red Alert nodded, "Alright. Just be careful."

"Remember, if you hear a bloodcurdling scream that's me asking for help," Angelique replied and headed out the med bay door.

* * *

Aurora had made it back down to Optimus' office and had just been granted permission to come back in. She entered and took her usual seat in front of his desk, this time she sighed heavily and groaned, "I hate Megatron."

Optimus looked up at her, "What did he do now?"

"You know that bolt of electricity he shoots out of his hand?"

"Yeah…I'm guessing Angelique got hit by it."

"You got it. She was slammed into the opposite wall, but Red Alert is checking her out right now," she explained then added, "I don't think this is going to work."

"Have a little faith."

"Angelique doesn't want to go back in there."

Optimus sighed heavily, "We'll think of something."

"It would have been so much easier if you Autobots had come to life and not the Decepticons, especially Megatron, regardless of how Angelique felt about it."

"What would you have done if I hadn't come to life?"

"Died."

"Well now, we can't have that," Optimus remarked as he stood from his desk and walked over to Aurora. "Come on," he said offering her his hand, "I've been cooped up in this office long enough, let's go do something."

Aurora grinned as she accepted his hand and allowed him to lead her out of his office. As they stepped out into the hallway though, the girl couldn't help but ask, "What about Angelique?"

Optimus wrapped an arm around her waist and replied, "Let's not worry about her for a little while, she's with Red Alert and Wing-Saber, she's alright. Instead, let's worry about us for the rest of the day."

She leaned against him as he directed her towards the exit of the base, "I'm so glad that out of all the transformers that came to life, you were one of them."

Optimus smiled; he was quite sure he could bring their relationship up a notch.

* * *

Angelique scratched her arm nervously as she stopped outside the door to the Decepticon throne room. She figured there was no point in knocking and finally worked up the nerve to walk in, but only Ransack and Crumplezone were inside. They looked surprised to see her and Ransack piped up, "What are you doin' here?"

"I'm looking for Starscream, have you seen him?"

"He's probably in his quarters doing Megatron's paperwork, you know with the boss man missing right now, it's his duty."

"Megatron's not missing…he's in prison."

Ransack raised an optic ridge and then looked to Crumplezone, "You hear that?! We gotta go bust him outta there!"

"Alright little buddy," Crumplezone complied.

Angelique shook her head and held her hands out before her in a surrendering motion, "No, no, no, you can't let him out…he's um…he's…" She trailed off unable to think of a good excuse. Finally she sighed and said, "Look, you just can't let him out. I need to talk with Starscream about it."

Ransack shrugged, "We told ya where he is lady."

"Right…thanks then," she sighed a bit disheartened and left the throne room, heading in the direction of Starscream's quarters.

Angelique was upset by the fact the Autobots had neglected to tell the Decepticons that their leader was in prison…or maybe they hadn't. Maybe they had told Starscream but he just kept it to himself…but then the rest of the Decepticons would have been questioning where their leader was.

"_No,"_ she thought when she realized something, _"They don't care…am I…the only one?"_

If they had cared, they would have tried to find Megatron, if Starscream did know, and if he did care, he would've led a team to free Megatron. But none of them had done that. The only one who had been down to see Megatron since he was imprisoned was…her.

Angelique stopped walking and looked down a hallway that led to the prison where Megatron currently was. "Oh who was I to say those things?" she mumbled to herself, "I'm no better than anyone else…"

She took a step towards the prison but then stopped herself. She knew she had to apologize to him for the things she said, but if she went in now she knew he would do nothing more than cut her off and not listen. She needed to give him time to simmer down and she needed to give herself time to think about what to say. Right now all she knew was that she couldn't show him she was afraid.

Angelique turned back to Starscream's quarters with a small smile on her face. She would show the leader of the Decepticons she cared; she would show him that she was different than everybody else who never showed him any sort of kindness. And she would show him later, because later, maybe, considering what happened, she would let him go, regardless of what everybody else thought. It was his turn to be shown a little sympathy…a little love.

Before she knew it, Angelique found herself standing out front of Starscream's door. She needed to talk with him and see what he knew…and what he was up to. She sighed heavily thinking, _"This is it."_

She rapped her knuckles against the door.

* * *

Well...that's the end for now...please leave a review before you leave!


	14. Therapy Part II

So, I didn't get enough time to update this during my Christmas vacation, but since I had a snow day and delays galore last week, I managed to write this up. I hope you guys like this chapter. My next vacation is in 5 weeks...yay...

* * *

**Chapter 14: Therapy Part II**

Starscream looked a little startled when he opened the door and saw Angelique standing there. He leaned against the doorframe as he took her in. Crossing his arms he asked, "Why are you here?"

"I need a few questions answered. You feel like having an interview, even though the questions aren't about you?"

"Just what is your definition of a few?"

"Just let me in," Angelique said frustrated, "This won't take too long if you just answer the questions."

Starscream growled before he stepped aside and allowed Angelique to come into the room. She glanced around before she sat down in a chair that was in his room. As she took his room in, she noticed that he had three rooms in his quarters, a living area, an office, and a bedroom. Starscream sat down on the couch that was to the right of her. "Let's get this over with," he said, "I'm not one for interviews."

"Okay, did the Autobots tell you that Megatron is in prison?"

"Not exactly, they told me that he was 'under their care' pro tempore," Starscream answered nonchalantly.

"Let's…not use Latin phrases."

"For the time being then, jeez human expand your vocabulary."

Angelique grumbled and then went onto the next question, "I know you assumed command _pro tempore_, did you tell the other Decepticons that Megatron is with the Autobots?"

"I told them Megatron was out of commission for a little while…" and then he added with a smirk, "Maybe permanently."

"Don't get your hopes up _yet_ Starscream. Megatron was arrested because he almost killed me. Because of him, I am not human anymore. I don't know if you're aware of it or not, but he's _severely_ depressed, even though he denies it."

"And your question?"

"Do you know any reasons as to why Megatron is so depressed?"

"I think the question you should ask is whether or not I _care_ Megatron is depressed, and the answer to that is no. _Nobody_ does, and why should we? All he did was treat us like dirt."

"Regardless, that isn't the question I asked you."

"What are your theories?"

"Look, I'm the one asking the questions here."

Starscream pursed his lips to the side, "It's because we're not fighting anymore. The war was his life; now that it's over…well…I'm sure you have figured this out yourself. If you bring back the war, you bring him out of the depression."

Angelique sighed heavily, thinking about his words before she stood up from the chair and said, "Well…I can't think of anything more to ask—

"If you could get him to love…"

Angelique turned to him, "W-What?"

"Look, it's obvious you're the only who cares about him. Would you be willing to spend the rest of your life with him?"

"It's…not possible. He's never going to love."

"He's come close. There have been a couple of femmes that have rubbed off on him, but no femme has ever been able to break through his hard outer core. If you just got Wing-Saber out of the picture and were able to prove to him that you _do_ care, he'll lighten up around you and Primus knows what'll happen after that."

"I'm not so willing to toss Wing-Saber aside like that."

"But you are Megatron?"

"Look," Angelique stated as she headed towards the door, "I'm not giving up on Megatron, but I'm not going to hurt Wing-Saber either. Now, I've got the key to Megatron's cell, I'm letting him out, so be ready to relinquish your current duties."

"Pro tempore?"

"No, this isn't pro tempore." And she left his room.

* * *

Once outside of the base, Optimus wrapped his arm around Aurora's waist and pulled her against him. She sighed and relaxed against him. With all the chaos that had been happening in the base the last couple of days, it had been awhile since the two of them had had a moment like this…alone together.

"Isn't there a game that some people play called twenty questions?" Optimus asked suddenly, breaking the silence between them, "That way they can get to know one another better."

"Yeah, did you want to play?"

"Why not?"

"Okay, do you know the rules?"

"Not really, no."

"Alright, I ask a question and you have to answer truthfully. Then you have to ask a question and I have to answer truthfully, and so on and so forth."

"Oh, well that's simple enough. Do you want to start?"

"I guess, um, let's see here…" she trailed off as she thought about what to ask, "What would you do if Elita were to come back?"

Optimus sighed heavily; there wasn't a rule that said the questions couldn't be that hard. "I've never really thought about it," he replied after a brief pause, "She did leave me, so I would have to say no to her if she came back, especially now that I've got you."

Aurora nodded, satisfied with that answer, "Okay, it's your turn."

"How many boyfriends did you have as a human?"

Aurora's cheeks reddened, "Well um, none…I really hadn't ever planned on dating anybody and then I met you and things changed."

"So, I am your first?"

"Hey now, it's my turn to ask a question."

"Right…"

"Um, what's your favorite color?"

"I have two, red and blue."

"Well, that makes sense."

"Now, I am your first?"

"Yes, first boyfriend, first guy I've held hands with, first guy I've kissed, all that good stuff."

Optimus grinned, "I feel very honored."

"That's good, but you don't care that I don't have any experience?"

"No, it means I won't have to worry about you comparing to me to somebody else that you used to date and I can teach you things."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, but it's my turn. Now, what's your favorite kind of music?"

"I like all sorts of stuff. I like country, some of the hip-hop/rap, some rock, Broadway musical stuff, and yeah..." she trailed off, "What kinds of stuff do you plan on teaching me?"

"Whatever you're willing to try. Of course there are conditions."

She looked at him skeptically and then Optimus asked, "How far are you willing to go?"

"No sex till marriage," Aurora said automatically, "And no touching in inappropriate places…that's all I can think of for the moment. What are your conditions?"

"Well, you have to be ready, so if you don't want to do something, just tell me, and I have to think you're ready, especially if it's extreme…like sex. Anymore questions?"

"Is it possible for a transformer and human to have sex?"

"That's…a good question. I don't know, and I don't think so."

"Well, what about a holoform?"

"A what?"

"A holographic image of yourself as a human, except it's a lot more than a hologram, you can feel with it and objects can't pass through it."

"That's possible, I'll have to ask Red Alert about that, when the time comes."

Her cheeks flushed, "Okay."

"You know that movie night you promised me?"

"Yes, it's going to happen, I just need to talk to Angelique about it. What's today…Monday? Alright, it's happening this Saturday, even if it is just you and me, its happening."

"Okay then, should we aim for seven o'clock?"

"Seven is good."

The couple arrived at the house and Aurora led the way inside. Once inside, Optimus took her in his arms.

Looking up at him, Aurora said, "Let's go in my room."

* * *

Once Angelique got back to the Autobot section of the base, she headed straight for the prison. She was in a much lighter mood compared to earlier…and she hoped that it would go better this time as well, especially since she planned on letting him out, and she definitely didn't want to let an angry Megatron free. Not when she was completely and utterly defenseless against him.

"Hey princess, where are you headed?"

Angelique stopped and turned only to see Wing-Saber coming up from behind her. "Oh, hey Wing-Saber," she said.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and continued walking forward with her, "Where are you going?"

"I was headed to the prison…" she trailed off sensing that this was going to go bad.

"Why?"

"Well, because I want to."

"I have a crazy, suicidal girlfriend. How many kisses would it take to convince you not to go in there?"

"As if I would tell you that."

He looked at her.

"Okay, maybe five."

He leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her lips, "There's one."

"You know, the door to the prison is just around the corner and—

He kissed her quickly on the lips again, "There's two."

When the two reached the prison door, Wing-Saber had managed to get four kisses. Angelique opened the door to the prison and took a step inside saying, "I'll see you later Wing-Saber."

"One more kiss, you said five."

"I said maybe five," and then after a brief pause she added, "You can have it when I come out. An extra special one, okay?"

"Alright, I'll wait here incase—

"No, I'll be alright. I'll find you after I get done."

Wing-Saber looked at her skeptically, "You can't be sure about that."

"Trust me Wing-Saber, I trust you." And she walked inside, the door closing behind her.

Sighing heavily, she stepped away from the door and headed to Megatron's cell, hoping that he was in a better mood. If not…well, she figured she was nothing more and nothing less than completely doomed. When she got to his cell, she sat down on the bench that was in front of it.

"I thought you said you weren't coming back human," came the Decepticon leader's voice from inside the cell.

"I changed my mind. Look, I need to apologize to you; I shouldn't have said that I don't care and that you're not worth it because it's not true. You're not an easy guy to deal with and all I really want to do is help you."

"I told you I don't need help."

"Alright…but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try and give it to you anyway." Angelique saw his optics flicker in the cell and then twin pale blue optics were staring at her.

"What made you change your mind?"

"I don't want to be like everyone else."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed heavily, "Nobody else cares about you…that's why nobody else has come here to visit you. That's why Starscream assumed your position temporarily; it's why the rest of the Decepticons haven't come to free you."

"You're only here because Red Alert and Optimus think you should be."

"It's my choice now."

"I don't understand you human. I've kidnapped you and tortured you, manipulated and beat you, I've starved you and almost killed you…but you still come back, willing to make amends and willing to…show me a softer side."

"I really do care…"

"Why? Just what have I done that would make you care so much?"

"I don't know," and then after a pause she said, "I know it's the war that's making you feel the way you do. You told me so and it would make sense."

"You're not going to bring back the war."

"No, I think if you really missed it that much you would have brought it back yourself by now," she explained and then added, "But I certainly don't think you're going to get better sitting alone in that cell."

"You're letting me out?"

"Yes, but only if you agree to a couple of things."

"I should've known there would be catches to this…alright what?"

"You need to try and be nicer."

He growled, "Fine…what else?"

"You still have to meet with me once a day for therapy. And don't worry, we can keep the sessions short, that way I don't use up all of your time."

"I guess I don't have a choice, now let me out."

"Okay," she replied and she got up and went over to his cell. After entering a code into the keypad, the bars slid open and Megatron walked out.

"Where are my weapons?" he asked.

"Oh…you'd have to ask Optimus about that."

"Figures."

Angelique took out her phone and began typing a text message. After she sent it, she headed for the door to the prison and said, "Well, I'm bustin' out of this joint. I just hope Wing-Saber isn't waiting outside or I'm screwed." Slowly, Angelique opened the door, and as she had dreaded, Wing-Saber was waiting outside the door.

"Hey princess."

Megatron frowned as he came up from behind Angelique, "Don't call my human princess."

Wing-Saber's jaw dropped, "You let him go?! What are you, nuts?!"

"No…I know what I'm doing…"

"Oh, trust me Wing-Saber," he mimicked her, "Sure as the slagging _pit_ I'll trust you! Especially when you're going around freeing people that have come very close to killing you. And then you say 'I know what I'm doing.'"

Angelique frowned, glaring at him. She was just about to say something when Wing-Saber cut her off, "It's all just an act isn't it? You don't really love me; you're still utterly in love with _him_!"

"Wing-Saber that isn't true."

"Then why are you letting him out?"

"Megatron isn't going to get better sitting in jail."

"You're the one who chose to put him there."

"Well, now I'm choosing to let him out."

"I don't like this, I can't trust him."

"He's standing right behind me and he's not doing anything."

"Alright, that's it, you seriously need to choose. Is it him or is it me that your affections go to?"

Angelique's cheeks flushed and she put a hand to her forehead, "Can we discuss this somewhere else?"

"Oh not yet, I'm quite interested in hearing your answer human," Megatron taunted.

Angelique turned and looked at him, "What's it matter to you? We're not even romantically involved."

"Well, there was that one time."

Her eyes widened and Megatron read the pleading look in them, begging him not to say anything else. He smirked, "Remember? It was only a week ago or so, when you and Wing-Saber got into that other fight."

"What is he talking about?" Wing-Saber asked sternly.

"He's lying," Angelique said quickly, "He wants you to think I did something wrong when I didn't."

Megatron grinned, "I'm not lying."

"What happened?" the Autobot demanded now, "I will go review the security tapes if I have to."

Angelique bit her lip and then said quietly, "He forced a kiss on me."

Wing-Saber looked like he was about to explode. "Y-You _kissed_ her?" he snarled at Megatron.

"I had to prove a point…"

"What point?! That you're the best kisser in the universe?"

"Well, basically. My human would agree."

"She's not yours!" Wing-Saber shouted, pulling Angelique behind him.

"She wears my insignia, she is mine."

Wing-Saber growled and grabbed the closest object he could find, a metal pipe sticking out from the wall. He yanked it free and without thinking twice, he swung.

* * *

Aurora groaned when she suddenly felt her cellphone vibrate in her pocket. She was lying on her bed—Optimus next to her and holding her closely—and receiving the most passionate kiss of her life. Optimus sighed heavily and said, "You better see what that's about."

"Right." And Aurora pulled her phone out of her pocket and read the text message only to gasp, "Oh God, Angelique let Megatron out."

"She always knows how to ruin our moment, come on; we better get back down to the base."

"If you say so."

* * *

"Wing-Saber! STOP!" Angelique screamed as she watched the Autobot slam the pipe against Megatron's head again.

He raised the pipe to strike the Decepticon leader again when he felt arms encircle his waist and Angelique sobbed into his back, trembling, "Wing-Saber you got to stop, you've hurt him…you got your revenge okay? Just stop…please."

The Autobot lowered his arm and the pipe slipped out of his fingers, clattering to the floor. Wing-Saber turned so that he was facing her and wrapped his arms around her, murmuring, "I…I think I…killed him."

Angelique gasped and looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "No!" she shrieked, slamming her fists against him, "If you killed him I'll _hate_ you for the rest of my life! Go get Red Alert now!"

Wing-Saber, not liking his options, decided to obey and left to get Red Alert. Angelique knelt down beside the fallen Decepticon leader, wiping her eyes and trying to stop the tears but she couldn't. She couldn't erase the image of Wing-Saber slamming the pipe against Megatron's head over and over again; he had done it so many times she had lost count. He was lying face down on the floor, shards of pale blue glass were scattered around his face, his optics completely shattered. There were dents and terrible gashes in his head that exposed wires and sparks of electricity danced through them.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket suddenly and she took it out only to see that Aurora was calling her. She answered the phone and said through sniffles, "Hey Aurora…where are you? Are you with Optimus?"

"Yeah, are you crying?"

"Um…yeah."

"How come, is something wrong?"

"Wing-Saber and Megatron got into a fight…a really bad one."

"Is Wing-Saber alright?"

"He's fine…it's Megatron I'm worried about."

"Megatron?"

"Wing-Saber kept hitting him in the head with a pipe as hard as he could," Angelique explained and then she broke down in sobs as she continued, "I don't know if he's alive, Wing-Saber went to get Red Alert, but I won't know until he gets here."

"Alright, Red Alert is probably going to need some help getting Megatron to the med bay. Optimus and I will be there in a sec. Where are you?"

"Outside the prison."

"Okay, just hold on."

And the line went dead. Angelique hugged herself tightly to try and squish away the nausea that was building inside of her. It seemed like forever had gone by when Wing-Saber finally came back with Red Alert. Red Alert immediately began attending to Megatron and a few minutes later, Optimus and Aurora came. Angelique, despite the miserable state she was in, got up and went over to her sister. Aurora hugged her and said, "Hey you, calm down. Everything is going to be okay."

"For now," Red Alert added causing Angelique's face to crumple, "He's alive, but barely. I need to get him to the med bay stat in order to keep him alive."

Optimus nodded, "Alright, Wing-Saber, you help us." The Autobot leader opened a space gate to the med bay and Wing-Saber and Red Alert carried Megatron through.

As soon as the space gate closed Angelique's face paled and she quickly breathed, "I'm going to be sick."

Aurora grabbed her by the arm and quickly steered her to the nearest bathroom. Angelique made it inside just in the nick of time. Optimus followed them and he looked to Aurora asking, "Is she going to be okay?"

"She will be if Megatron is. It's quite obvious she's worried sick about him right now."

"Well, when she's finished let's get to the med bay. I need to talk with Wing-Saber about this."

Aurora leaned against him, sighing, "Optimus we need to convince Wing-Saber and Angelique to just let each other go. They're doing nothing but hurting each other."

"I know," he said wrapping his arms around her, "I've tried convincing Wing-Saber, but he thinks they'll be okay…and then things like this keep happening."

Aurora's eyes widened suddenly, "Oh my gosh I have an idea. You know those three femmes Red Alert created? If we brought them to life, maybe Wing-Saber would go for one of them instead."

"That might work; Red Alert and I will get to work on that as soon as he is done with Megatron. If Megatron doesn't live though…"

"Angelique wouldn't stay with him knowing that Wing-Saber killed Megatron. But don't say that in front of Angelique, if Megatron dies she'll probably become suicidal and I surely don't want that."

"Alright."

Angelique emerged from the bathroom and she looked at how Optimus was holding her sister. She faked a smile as she said, "You guys make a good couple."

"Thanks I guess," Aurora replied, "You want to go to the med bay?"

"Yes."

"Okay then." And Aurora nudged her forward.

Angelique started walking towards the med bay and Aurora and Optimus followed beside her. After a brief silence, Optimus asked, "Angelique, what provoked Wing-Saber to attack Megatron?"

"Well, Wing-Saber was waiting outside the prison and when I walked out with Megatron right behind me, he got really mad. He wanted me to choose between him and Megatron right then…and Megatron tried to make the situation worse by saying he and I did something that showed we were romantically involved."

"Well, did you do anything with Megatron?" Optimus questioned.

Angelique's cheeks flushed, "There was one time…that first time Wing-Saber and I got into a fight."

"Oh, I remember that," Aurora said, "Did you tell Wing-Saber that Megatron forced the kiss on you?"

Her blush increased, "Yeah I did."

"Wait a minute, you kissed Megatron?" Optimus asked surprised, "Why was I not informed about this?"

"I didn't kiss him," Angelique explained quickly, "He kissed me…and I didn't think it was that important to let anybody know. Especially Wing-Saber."

"So, is this what provoked him to attack Megatron?"

"No, but it almost put him over the edge. It was when Megatron said I was his because of the insignia on my chest…that was the straw that broke the camel's back."

"Was Wing-Saber at all mad at you when you revealed the kiss?"

"No, but he'll probably approach me later wondering why I didn't tell him about it sooner."

"How come you didn't tell him about it before today?"

"Well, after that day Megatron started that whole abuse course 101, so I didn't have the chance and it was one of the last things on my mind."

"Well," Aurora piped up, "Would you have told him about it even if Megatron hadn't come after you?"

"Probably not."

"Why?"

"Because…I got caught up in the moment and kissed back."

When they got to the med bay, Angelique felt her heart catch in her throat and it was almost like she couldn't breathe. Aurora nudged her into the waiting room since the doors to the med bay were locked and they couldn't get inside. Wing-Saber was inside the waiting room and when Optimus saw him he said, "Wing-Saber, you and I need to talk."

"Uh, yes sir," he stood and walked out of the room.

Optimus leaned forward and whispered in Aurora's ear, "Try to convince Angelique to let Wing-Saber go while I'm gone."

"Alright."

Optimus then left the room to talk to Wing-Saber.

Angelique sat down heavily in a chair and let the world's deepest sigh free. Aurora sat down next to her and said, "So, are you going to forgive Wing-Saber for this?"

"Let's not talk about him right now."

"Angelique, we need to. I…I don't think you should continue going out with him. You're doing nothing but getting into fights and hurting one another. You need to come to terms with yourself and admit that your feelings aren't strong enough for Wing-Saber."

"There is _something_ between us."

"But it's not love."

"How would you know? Why would Wing-Saber beat up Megatron? He was jealous, bitterly jealous."

"And you broke down and cried when Wing-Saber nearly killed Megatron, you threw up after you heard he was barely alive."

Tears started forming in Angelique's eyes, "I don't know then. Maybe I like to believe that I can get by without Megatron, make I like to pretend that I don't really need him, that somebody else can make me happy, but it's not true. Aurora, if Megatron dies…I…I'm going to die too."

"You really love Megatron don't you? One of those kinds of loves that cannot be destroyed, no matter what."

"Yeah, I mean if he hadn't come to life I probably would have grown out of it at some point, but now that I see him, in flesh and blood…I don't know what's going to happen."

"Don't you ever think though that it would be a Joker and Harley Quinn relationship?"

"You mean, with me as Harley and him as the Joker?"

"Yeah, full of abuse and manipulation. Don't you think he would always use you for his own benefit? Don't you think you would always be questioning whether or not he really loved you?"

"Aurora, that's already going on now."

* * *

Optimus and Wing-Saber went away from the med bay until they were out of hearing and seeing range. The Autobot leader sighed heavily before saying, "Angelique told me what happened. Look, if you keep getting into fights with her like this, you can't stay with her. And you certainly can't go killing off people she cares about with all her heart just to solve a jealousy problem."

"Oh, so it's one of those speeches again, that I should just let her go before something happens. Well, I don't think you have to worry about that anymore. After what I did, she'll be lucky to let me come out of this alive."

"Wing-Saber, your actions were not acceptable. You're certainly going to have to apologize to Angelique about this, and if Megatron recovers, you have to apologize to him as well."

"Apologize to Megatron?! Screw that! I'll just break into the med bay and finish him off."

Optimus grabbed Wing-Saber by the shoulders and pushed him against the wall, "Listen to me Wing-Saber, if you kill Megatron, Angelique is going to die too. She loves Megatron too much to live without him, and you know that. You need to let her go now, before anything else happens; her heart is not with you."

Wing-Saber growled and pushed Optimus off of him, "I'll talk with her, alright?"

Optimus nodded, "Alright."

And Wing-Saber walked away, heading in the opposite direction of the med bay.

* * *

"Well, regardless of what is going on between you and Megatron, you seriously need to think about what is going on between you and Wing-Saber."

"Alright, but I'm not willing to talk to him for a while. At least not until I know Megatron is going to be alright."

"I guess that's fair."

Optimus walked back into the waiting room and sat down beside Aurora, wrapping an arm around her. Aurora leaned against him and asked, "Where's Wing-Saber?"

"I think he went to go blow off some steam."

Angelique glanced at them before sighing heavily and looking away. Aurora figured this wasn't the appropriate time to tell Angelique about the movie night, she'd wait until a little later on in the week and bring it up, just as long as Megatron recovered.

"If you guys want to go do something else you can, you don't have to wait here," Angelique stated suddenly.

"We'll wait until Red Alert comes out and says how Megatron is," Aurora replied.

"Alright," Angelique remarked in a voice barely above a whisper, she wasn't going to argue.

* * *

Red Alert didn't come back out until quarter to ten that night. He looked completely exhausted and frustrated as well. When Angelique took one look at him, her heart sank and she thought for sure he lungs had exploded, she couldn't breathe.

"Is he okay?" Optimus asked.

"It took me forever to get him into a stable condition, I almost lost him a couple times; Wing-Saber really did a number on him."

Angelique could suddenly breathe again knowing that he was still alive, "Is he going to make it through?"

"Well, I repaired him the best I could, but it's up to his self-repair system to completely repair him. I did a few scans and it doesn't look like he suffered any memory loss, which is amazing seeing his injuries. He is in a coma though and the lights are to remain dim until he wakes up and has been awake for twenty-four hours," the medic explained, "I'm going to need someone to stay with him overnight to make sure he stays in the stable condition he's in now."

"I'll stay," Angelique volunteered without hesitating.

Red Alert nodded, "Alright, let's go."

Angelique got up from the chair she was sitting in and followed Red Alert into the med bay. The doors shut behind them and Angelique heard them lock. "Now," the medic began gesturing to Megatron, "Since his body is so out of it right now, his temperature control system may not work properly. If he starts shaking, throw a blanket on him. If you see him starting to sweat, take the blanket off and turn on the fan that's next to him. Since he is unaware of what he is doing, he might try to touch his head since it's in pain. If he starts to lift a hand towards his head, make sure you grab it."

"Alright, anything else?"

"Yes, from time to time I want you to talk to him, ask him yes or no questions. If he responds, like by his lips twitching or his fingers twitching, anything like that, make sure you let me know. Right now I have a bandage around his head covering his optics since both of his optical lenses had to be replaced. Since his optics are in pain, he'll probably have optical fluent leaking from them for a few days."

"Okay."

"Now that's all. I'll see you in the morning." And he disappeared inside his quarters.

Angelique found a chair and pulled it to Megatron's bedside. The tears had found their way out of her eyes again. It hurt her so much to see the Decepticon leader like this and it hurt even more to know somebody she cared about had put him in this state. She took his hand in both of hers and held it against her tearstained cheek.

"Oh Megatron," she breathed, "I'm so sorry."

* * *

Optimus couldn't hide a grin when he saw Aurora had fallen asleep against him. He hated to wake her, but he knew that if she stayed there she would be sore in the morning. Gently he nudged her until she woke up and then he said, "Sorry to wake you, come on, let's get you to bed."

"Okay," she replied and Optimus stood and lifted her in his arms. Aurora rested her head against his neck.

Optimus felt her breath ripple down his neck and it was all he could do to suppress a shudder. "Do you want to go to your room or mine?" he asked in a murmur.

"Your room," she mumbled back.

The Autobot leader took her to his room and he skipped by the guest bedroom that he had and went straight to his bed. He laid her down and then he settled down next to her, pulling the blanket over them and taking her in his arms.

"You don't mind this do you?"

"No, I love you Optimus."

Optimus grinned and kissed her lips gently as she fell asleep.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review!


	15. Faux Paix

It's about time FFN started working! Many thanks to the FFN crew for keeping the system up and running. So many of my friends and myself thought we were going to die we missed the site so much. Also, many thanks to those who have been reading and reviewing right along, I love you guys, and thank you, thank you, thank you! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, you've earned it.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Faux Paix **

Angelique felt dead the next morning. She was exhausted from all the crying she had done and not being able to sleep because of the visual she had to keep over Megatron during the night. She felt like she was going to throw up, she had a splitting headache, and her heart hurt to an enormous degree.

"Can you hear me?" she asked Megatron, not bothering to look at his face this time when she said it.

Like every other time she had asked it throughout the night, Megatron didn't answer. Angelique sighed heavily, giving up. He didn't respond at all, no twitching, no movement. She knew that she would believe he was dead if she didn't hear his spark beat on the monitor, if she didn't hear the small mechanical whispers that came from inside of him.

For the millionth time that morning, the girl looked at his hand within hers. And for the millionth time she compared the size of her hand to his. Her fingers fit evenly within his, even though his hand could easily swallow hers. Angelique had naturally cold hands and Megatron's were surprisingly warm. Holding on to his hand made her hands warm…

The door to Red Alert's quarters hissed open suddenly and he walked into the room. Angelique cast a glance at him and then asked in a mumbling voice, "Sleep well?"

Red Alert smiled slightly at her satirical mood, "I did actually. You look like you could get some rest."

"Pft nah," she said, eyelids drooping, "I'm starving."

"I'm sure," the medic answered as he went over to the med bay doors and unlocked them, "Why don't you get some rest, as a medic I would advise you to do so."

Angelique rubbed at her eyes with a free hand, "I don't feel like it. Besides as a Decepticon I am obliged to take care of my leader when he's down."

"You really don't think that way do you?"

She shrugged, "Is it really a crime if I do? You know, if I told you just half of my thoughts I don't think you'd look at me the same way again."

"You really do need sleep…" Red Alert remarked as he silently observed how the girl was holding the Decepticon leader's hand. He was aware of the girl's feelings for Megatron; he had just never seen her publicly display her affections towards him.

Though across his lifespan he had seen plenty of femmes go head over heels for the Decepticon leader. Angelique wasn't much different, other than she was human…well a gynoid. But she still was human in everybody's eyes and optics.

* * *

Optimus awoke only to see that Aurora was still peacefully asleep beside him. Her brunette hair was strewn about in places and it caused a sweet smile to form on his lips. He kissed her forehead as he whispered into her ear, "Wake up beautiful."

"Come on five more minutes," she mumbled tiredly as she put a hand over her ear.

He chuckled softly as he whispered, "We've been asleep for nine hours."

"So…make it ten, I'm really comfortable at the moment."

Optimus had his arms around her and she had one of her legs between his. He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips before saying, "I know, you can come back here tonight if you wish."

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, "That sounds like an idea. Um…how awful do I look right now?"

He chuckled as he pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head. "You look absolutely beautiful Aurora."

"You're lying," she said looking up at him.

"You should know me better than that. I am the leader of the Autobots, do you think I lie?"

"Well…not normally but I still think you're very capable of lying if you had to."

"Perhaps," he said poking Aurora in the ribs causing her to flinch.

"Hey!" she scolded as he laughed at her reaction, "You know sometimes people can't help it when they're ticklish."

He shrugged as he poked her in the side again, producing the same reaction, "Well, at least I know how to wake you up in the morning."

"I'll probably slap you thinking someone was attacking me."

"I think I could deal with that."

"Well you're only made of metal and me of flesh and bone."

He smiled and kissed her on the lips before saying, "You're still perfect. Come on, let's get going."

"Alright," she said sitting up and rubbing the remaining sleep out of her eyes, "What's on the agenda for today?"

"Business as usual I guess," Optimus said sitting up as well and slowly getting out of the bed, "I guess I should probably see Red Alert about those femmes today. I don't think there's much he can do with Megatron right now."

"I guess I could check on Angelique," Aurora stated as she got out of the bed and headed into the guest room where she had kept some of her stuff.

"You sound so eager," Optimus remarked a bit sarcastically as he found a cube of energon and slowly drank that to reenergize his systems.

"When she's in love she's a pain in the ass to me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well from past boyfriends she's had, she tends to ignore me and she won't listen to me…and she was showing symptoms of that last night when she really didn't listen to me about Wing-Saber," Aurora confessed as she picked out an outfit to wear.

"Wing-Saber and her will realize soon enough that they're not meant to be. Sure I was for them being together in the beginning, but clearly it's just not working."

"And I hope my words to her bite her in the ass when she realizes it."

"Aurora, that's not very nice."

She chuckled sheepishly, "I'll be getting dressed." And she shut the door to the guest room.

Optimus shook his head smiling as he finished his energon cube and tossed it out.

* * *

Angelique yawned loudly as Red Alert sat down at a computer and began typing. After a few moments of silence he asked, "Did Megatron respond to anything you asked him last night?"

"No…he's like dead…except he's alive."

Red Alert shook his head as he resumed his typing, "It won't hurt you to get sleep you know. You'll just end up getting yourself sick and then you'll be in the med bay."

She grinned, "Then you'd get to take care of me again. Except this time I want to keep my clothes on."

The medic slapped a hand to his forehead exasperated. "I only did that so I could assess your injuries," he said without his voice wavering. Obviously he was not embarrassed or shamed by his actions from way back when.

"Sure it was…I'm really hungry."

"No you're not, you're tired."

"How would you know how I feel?"

"I'm sorry I ever said anything—

The doors to the med bay opened suddenly and Optimus and Aurora came in. Angelique looked to them and grinned, "Hey lovebirds! Aurora, what's for breakfast?"

"Breakfast? Angelique, you're not even human anymore."

"I don't care! I could really go for some fried eggs and toast and milk…and gosh I'm hungry," she said and then her eyes lit up, "I pulled my first all-nighter last night."

"Exhaustion makes you sick you know," Aurora said sternly, "Why don't you go get some rest so you can watch over Megatron tonight? After all, it's not like he's going anywhere."

"Don't say that!" Angelique yelled. She suddenly felt Megatron's hand tighten around hers and his spark beat increased slightly.

A hissing sound of pain passed the Decepticon leader's lips as he reached towards his head with his free hand. Red Alert was at Megatron's bedside immediately and pulled his hand away from his head. When Megatron's spark rate returned to normal, Red Alert looked to Angelique and said, "You can't shout."

Angelique looked to her feet as her cheeks flushed with shame. Optimus sighed heavily and then spoke, "Aurora mentioned to me that you have created three femmes."

Red Alert nodded, "Yes sir."

"I would like to see them and then we can discuss whether or not to bring them online."

"Follow me sir," Red Alert said leading him over to the femmes.

Aurora looked to Angelique and after a few moments she said, "Let's you and I get out of here."

Angelique shook her head, "Can you just get me something to eat? I'm not leaving here until Megatron gets better."

"Fine…what do you want?"

"Uh…just get me whatever you can find that's breakfast-y."

"Why don't you just come with me? You'll only be gone for half an hour at the most."

Angelique sighed heavily, "I don't want to leave Megatron's side…"

"You need to get a life," Aurora remarked bitterly as she left the med bay.

Angelique watched her sister leave out of the corner of her eye before she yawned and rubbed her eyes again. She was really tired…it would be really nice if Megatron woke up soon. But there was no telling how he would react when he woke up. He could yell and scream his lungs off at her – _"Do transformers even have lungs?"_ she wondered to herself - heck he could even be nice. But Angelique knew that would only happen if he were in a good mood. A _really_ good mood.

About five minutes later Aurora returned with some hot chocolate. Angelique looked to her, "That was all you could find?"

"Hey, I didn't have to bring you anything you know," Aurora replied angrily.

"Sorry…and thanks," the younger sister remarked as she took the hot chocolate and sipped it. She grimaced and then started choking.

"You can't even drink anything without trying to kill yourself now?" Aurora asked as she took the beverage away from her sister to keep her from spilling it.

Angelique shook her head. "No," she said between coughs, "It doesn't taste good."

Curious, Aurora took a sip and concluded, "It tastes fine."

"Let me try again," the choking sibling persisted.

Shrugging, Aurora handed the mug back to her and Angelique took another swig, only to produce the same result. "I think my taste buds changed," she wheezed.

Red Alert and Optimus came over to see what all the commotion was and the medic cautiously went to Angelique's side. "Are you okay?" he asked as he observed the drink in Aurora's hands, "Don't tell me you actually tried to drink that."

"I did."

"Angelique you're a gynoid, you can't eat human food or drink human beverages," he groaned and looked to Aurora, "Will you get her out of here?"

Aurora shook her head, "I've already tried."

"I'll get you some energon," the Autobot medic said looking to the younger girl, "Can you just behave for five minutes?"

Angelique nodded and Red Alert returned with Optimus to the femmes. Aurora drank the hot chocolate and took care of the mug before she joined the two Autobots over at the femmes. The gynoid sighed heavily as she set Megatron's hand back on the bed. Folding her arms, she placed them on the bed, acting as a cradle for her head as she leaned forward and rested her head on her arms. She closed her eyes thinking five minutes of sleep wouldn't kill her.

* * *

"Hey you, wake up. If you keep sleeping in that position you're going to be sore," said a voice.

Angelique stirred momentarily before she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, well at least trying to rub the sleep out. She blinked a couple of times before whispering, "How long have I been asleep?"

"Almost four hours," the voice replied. It was Aurora.

The younger sibling glanced around before asking, "Why are you here?"

The older sister handed her an energon cube, "I came to check up on you. You should really go sleep somewhere else."

Angelique took a sip of the energon before taking a couple regular swallows. "I'm not going anywhere and you know that. Not until Megatron is up and moving again and I know he's going to be okay."

Aurora shook her head, "You know Wing-Saber was wondering where you were earlier. He wants to talk to you; I think he wants to say he's sorry."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him you had been up all night and that you were sleeping. Do you want to talk to him?"

Angelique numbly finished the energon cube before saying, "Not yet."

"Suit yourself."

Red Alert entered the med bay suddenly and when he saw Angelique was awake he groaned, "Why did you wake her up?"

"Sorry Red, I didn't want her waking up sore. We would've had to listen to her complain about that," Aurora apologized.

Angelique didn't pay attention to what they talked about after that, and the rest of the day ended up going by in a blur. Before she knew it, Red Alert was turning in for the night and she had volunteered herself once again to spend another night with Megatron to make sure he remained in a stable condition throughout the night.

By the next morning, Angelique felt like she was trapped in a void of complete exhaustion. Her face felt like it was frozen in a droopy position, with her mouth hanging open and her eyelids hanging to floor. However, when she checked both, her eyelids were in their proper place and her mouth was closed. In vain, the gynoid rubbed her eyes trying to ward away the exhaustion that wouldn't go away, but it still didn't help. She didn't have a mirror, but she didn't need a mirror to know that her eyes were probably bloodshot and she had dark circles under her eyes.

She didn't have the energy to look up when Red Alert finally emerged from his quarters at seven in the morning. He took one look at Angelique and said, "You _really_ need some sleep."

"I still function," Angelique slurred out as she borrowed one of Megatron's famous lines, "Just give me about nine-hundred energon cubes."

"If you drink too many you'll get drunk."

"That's…not fair."

"Come on, there's a recharge berth free right here next to Megatron. You can sleep there; it's not good for your body to not get any sleep."

"I know," she mumbled, "Megatron didn't respond to anything again last night."

Red Alert sighed, "He might not respond for weeks Angelique. Heck, he might be stuck in that state forever. You're going to have to learn to let him go."

Angelique didn't say anything and sat in a stunned and heart wrenching silence. Her eyes wanted to fill with tears, but she was so tired, her body didn't have the will to make her cry. Instead, she buried her head in her arms, which were nestled comfortable on top of Megatron's arm. She still held his hand as she drifted into a light sleep.

* * *

"Hey, Angelique wake up."

The gynoid groaned as a hand shook her. Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up, her back was stiff and her legs were severely cramped from sitting down in the chair for way too long. She looked over in the direction where she heard the voice and saw Red Alert. "Yeah?" she murmured in a hoarse voice.

"I'm going to step out for a few minutes. I'm sorry to wake you, but I figured five hours was enough time to let you rest up. Keep an optic on Megatron for me, if he responds at all; let me know when I get back."

"Okay," she said a bit louder this time, rubbing her eyes for what felt like the millionth time.

After Red Alert left, Angelique stood from the chair and let go of Megatron's hand to stretch. She walked around a bit before turning back to Megatron's recharge and starting back to it. She paused when she noticed that Red Alert had removed the bandage from his optics…oh it was so good to see his optics again, even though optic cleanser was still leaking from his optics, making it look like he was crying in his sleep.

Angelique felt her heart tighten in her chest and a small movement caught her eye. Megatron's hand – the hand she had been holding – was twitching. A wave of elation suddenly consumed her and she asked with renewed hope, "Megatron, can you hear me?"

She walked back over to his bedside in time to watch his lips twitch. Angelique grinned and she asked, "Do you want something?"

His lips twitched again, along with his hand.

"Do you want Red Alert?"

No response.

"Do you want Optimus?"

No response.

"Wing-Saber?"

The corners of his lips curled into a threatening scowl and Angelique figured that was a no. So she asked, "Do you want Starscream?"

He didn't respond.

Exasperated, the girl asked, "Do you want me?"

Both his lips and hand twitched. Angelique resumed her seat in the chair and took his hand in both of hers as she replied softly, "Well I'm right here, and I swear I'm not going anywhere, not until you wake up."

He sighed heavily, and Angelique smiled because she knew he wasn't appreciating her sappy attitude. His fingers twitched within her hands and she lightly squeezed his hand. She wanted to scream from elation when she felt him lightly squeeze one of her hands back as well. Angelique was just really glad she wasn't the one hooked up to the spark rate monitor right now because she knew hers was racing beyond a safe level.

Red Alert walked back in a few long minutes later and he glanced at Angelique before saying, "There's life in your optics again."

She nodded towards Megatron with a smile on her face, "He's responding."

"Really? Well, maybe he'll come out of this after all. What's he doing?"

"He's squeezing my hand, twitching his hand and fingers, and twitching his lips."

"Okay then, it sounds like he's coming out of it. So why don't you get some sleep?"

"I already told him that I wasn't going to go anywhere until he woke up."

"That has nothing to do with sleeping though. Angelique you really do need to get some rest, regardless of what you said to Megatron. I don't want to have to take care of you too…that's not my job," he remarked and then added glumly, "I thought it was Wing-Saber's job but seeing the way you and Megatron are acting I'm not so sure anymore."

"Where's Aurora?"

"I believe her and Optimus went out for a little while."

"Dang, they're always together."

"They seem to be the only good news around this base."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Optimus has been lonely for a long time and it's good to see him with someone else and see it working out. It's been a long time since we've all seen him this happy."

Angelique sighed heavily; she didn't dare say to Red Alert that she didn't really care about how Optimus felt at all. Instead she asked, "Does that mean…they're going to be together for a long time?"

"I can't see the future, but it wouldn't surprise me if Optimus and your sister agreed to be spark mates one day. If that ever happens, you should feel honored."

She growled annoyed and then said, "Then she should feel honored if the same thing happens to Megatron and me."

Red Alert started laughing and Angelique felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment and slight anger. Why wouldn't it be an honor for Aurora if her sister vowed the rest of her life to the leader of the Decepticons, and he vowed the rest of his life to her? Angelique saw how much Megatron was hated…but why? He had his reasons for everything he did. He left everyone alone unless they provoked him. And Angelique knew she had surely provoked him.

"I don't see how that's funny," she whispered mostly to herself, but Red Alert heard her and stopped laughing.

There was silence between them for a while before Red Alert said, "If you need me, I'll be doing work on my computer. Keep Megatron busy for me all right? The last thing I need is him breathing down my neck too." And he went over to his computer and sat down.

Angelique growled lowly and then said in a voice so that the medic couldn't hear, "I don't like him."

Megatron's lips curled into a smile.

* * *

At 10:30pm Red Alert decided he was going to get some recharge and he told Angelique that she didn't need to stay up and watch Megatron since it appeared that he was coming out of the coma, but the girl didn't want to take any chances. Instead, she rested her head on Megatron's arm while she still held his hand with both of hers. She wasn't about to remove her fingers from that, not until Megatron absolutely made her.

Glancing up at his face, Angelique wished that she could wipe the tears from his optics and cheeks, but she was afraid to touch his head for fear that she could hurt him more and cause him to never wake up. Heck, he wasn't even awake now, but the girl knew he was so close to being awake.

"Do you _really_ hate me?"

He mouthed the word no. Angelique took comfort in this and smiled slightly as she asked further, "Do you dislike me?"

For a few long moments he didn't respond, and then finally he mouthed the word no again. Angelique lifted her head a bit surprised, "Do you like me?"

He sighed heavily, making Angelique want to laugh. It was another sigh that told she was being too sappy yet again and he wasn't going to be pressed that far, especially when he was down. Angelique was also glad that she could talk to him like this, even if he couldn't directly reply. She could tell him a lot and he couldn't reprimand her for it.

"So, I am just bearable?"

He smiled.

Angelique leaned back in the chair and decided she would try being sappy again. With a small blush on her cheeks she asked, "Do you ever think about that time we kissed?"

He started pulling his hand away from hers and Angelique's blush increased. She allowed him to take his hand back, watching as he raised it and started reaching for her face. Angelique thought for sure that he was going to slap her and she cringed as she quickly tried to reason, "I'm sorry sir, I-I shouldn't have—

She stopped midsentence as Megatron's fingertips graced across her lips. Blindly, he outlined her lips with his fingers before placing the same fingertips against his own mouth and then returned his hand to her mouth before resting it back on the recharge berth. Angelique blinked a couple times, both stunned and trying to decipher just what had happened.

"Was…was that supposed to be a…a kiss?"

He smiled. Angelique's heart raced in ecstasy as a yelp of joy exploded inside of her. She rested her arms on the recharge berth beside his arm and nestled her head on her arms. "I'm really tired Megatron, so good night. I hope you wake up tomorrow. It'll have been three days."

And she fell asleep.

* * *

It felt like five minutes had gone by when Angelique woke up and felt someone running a hand through her hair. Her CPU registered that the recharge berth was vibrating, but she didn't pay attention to it as she looked up and realized that Megatron was running a hand through her hair. Smiling gently, she glanced up to his face only to meet the gaze of his bright, pale blue optics.

He was online.

Startled, Angelique sat up and felt sudden tears of joy stream down her face, "M-Megatron?"

"Angelique…" he began.

"You…you know my name?"

He nodded and then slowly sat up, "Why in the name of Primus are you crying?"

"Sir are you sure you should be sitting up?" she asked as she tried to hide her tears.

"I can sit up if I want to…why are you crying?"

"Because I'm…I'm happy that you're awake."

"Oh how wonderfully pathetic…" he mused and then added in an irritated tone, "You can cry me an _ocean_ for all I care, just stop ignoring me!"

"Ignoring you? I was asleep!"

"Regardless, I'm _freezing _and don't want the blankets in this room on me. They've been on other sick patients, including your naked body."

Angelique couldn't hide a blush as she remarked, "Well, what am I supposed to do? Sew you up one?"

He moved over in the recharge berth, "This berth is big enough for two, so come here."

Her eyes dilated, "Get in bed…with you?"

"Hurry up!"

Without another prompting, Angelique got into the recharge berth with him, accidentally hitting a button on the side of the recharge berth that started warming the mattress. She sat there for a minute, not sure what to do until Megatron laid down and pushed her down with him. Angelique thought her heart was going to beat right out of her chest when the Decepticon leader suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her directly against him. His body was shaking quite hard and Angelique whispered, "You're shivering."

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious."

"What happens when Red Alert comes in?"

"That's not my problem…now go back to sleep, you look worse than I do."

She didn't have to be told twice.

* * *

A bubbly female voice giggled and then said, "He's _cute_!"

"But obviously he's taken, look at the way he's got his arms around that femme," said another female voice.

"The femme is my sister," came a grouchy and displeased voice.

"I think it looks like he's crushing her," said another femme.

Angelique slightly moaned, she thought she was dreaming…there were too many female voices that she didn't recognize, and besides, Megatron was still asleep next to her. Either she was dreaming or she was hearing things, and she didn't want to get up. She was the most comfortable she had been in a long time and she was still so tired.

"I think it's waking up."

Angelique groaned, guessing she wasn't asleep anymore. She almost jumped out of her skin when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and her eyes flutter open, only to cause her pupils to dilate. "Syn-Syndrome?" she murmured, shocked.

The femme smiled, "You okay there little one?"

Angelique returned the soft smile, "I'm fine."

Aurora groaned, "What do you think you're doing in bed with Megatron like that? You know how he's going to react when he wakes up? He'll probably beat you to a pulp like before and then eat you for breakfast."

"He wanted me to," Angelique said in her own defense, glancing about the room, "When did Red Alert activate those femmes?"

"Earlier this morning, while you and your love machine here were running around and doing God knows what in La-La Land."

The younger sibling glanced around, noticing that Red Alert and Optimus were also in the room and watching her. A blush surfaced on her cheeks, "What is this, a party?"

Aurora chuckled, "Yeah right, come on, get up."

Angelique sighed heavily before sitting up. Megatron stirred suddenly and retracted his hands from Angelique's waist before he brought his optics online and sat up as well, "What's going on?"

Aurora jumped back a bit startled, "You never said he woke up!"

"Well, you never gave me the chance."

Megatron growled suddenly, "More Autobots?" Obviously he had noticed the femmes.

"Uh yeah, Red Alert created them, that's Sky-Shadow, Syndrome, and Lynk."

Megatron waved his hand dismissively, "I don't care who they are. They're filthy Autobots."

"That's not very nice," Syndrome remarked as she took hold of Angelique's arm, "Obviously he woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I suggest you get away from him."

Megatron growled and slapped her hand off of Angelique, "Keep your hands off my human!"

"Megatron its okay…" Angelique tried to reason.

"No it's not okay, you're a Decepticon, you're better than them. Think about what your _wretched_ Wing-Saber did to me," his optics then widened briefly before he looked to the girl sitting beside him on the recharge berth, "Angelique I forbid you from going near him anymore, you are to stay close to me."

The gynoid's eyes widened and she watched Aurora's jaw drop from the corner of her eye. Megatron continued, "The last thing I want is for you to end up the same way I did. You are mine to torture and mine alone!" And then he smacked her off of the recharge berth.

Angelique landed with a hard thump on her backside and then looked up to Megatron as he looked down at her. There was an eerie silence in the med bay for a few long moments before Angelique stood and said, "You could've just told me to get off you know."

"Shut up human."

"Um…why don't we all get out of here so that Red Alert can finish treating the ever obnoxious Megatron?"

"Right behind you," Sky-Shadow remarked in compliance.

Syndrome looked to the Autobot medic and said, "Red Alert, if you don't mind I'd like to stay here and help you out."

Red Alert gave a small smile and nodded. Optimus observed them momentarily before he said, "Alright, let's go."

Aurora practically shoved Angelique out of the med bay with Sky-Shadow, Lynk, and Optimus following them. However, much to Angelique's dismay, Wing-Saber was waiting outside the med bay. He grinned when he saw Angelique and he grinned even more when he laid optics on the femmes behind her.

"Well, well, well now, look at all the ladies," he purred, "Angelique, I want to talk."

"Tomorrow," she said, "I need to take a shower and change my clothes and sleep." And Angelique walked away, down the hall towards her quarters.

Wing-Saber watched her leave and when she was out of sight, he looked to both Lynk and Sky-Shadow and smiled saying, "Why don't you guys come with me? I have a friend and he and I can show you around the base."

"Okay," Lynk said and Wing-Saber offered to escort her. Smiling, she slid her hand under his arm and started walking away with him, Sky-Shadow following.

Aurora blinked a few times before sighing heavily and leaning against Optimus. "What just happened in these last ten minutes?" she asked.

"Well…a lot."

"Was it just me, or did Megatron sound like he…cared about Angelique?"

"That…and he sounded like only he could have her. I think…maybe…that Angelique was able to plant the seeds to some sort of demented and maniac relationship with Megatron."

"And it looks like Wing-Saber moved on quickly."

Optimus nodded, "Things might actually be settling down for once in this base."

Aurora chuckled, "It probably won't last long if peace does come."

"Probably not…come on, let's go do something."

Aurora nodded and followed Optimus down the hallway and away from the med bay.

* * *

And so ends this chapter. I hope you guys aren't getting sick of this, I gots things to tell you now.

First, this story was meant to be long, and long it shall be because the real/main conflict is going to start in the next chapter. And what is that conflict? Well, you'll see. xD  
Second, more relationships are coming. I haven't forgotten about you StarSwoop.  
Third, I'm bringing funny back, hopefully...I've never been too good at the funny.  
Fourth, kudos to anyone who gets the irony of the chapter title and the last few phrases of the chapter.

It's taken me what feels like forever to finally plant the seeds of this story, now that I have...it's time to rock and roll. I hope to see you guys in the next chapter. Since we can all login again now, would you make this writer happy and please review? I will give you cookies!


	16. Saturday Night at the Movies

I must start off by thanking everyone for such wonderful reviews for the last chapter, every single one of them made me grin and love you guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you for making my day, everybody gets cookies and kudos for it. And as another reward, I made this chapter incredibly long...I just couldn't make it end. It's 21 pages in Microsoft Word...just about 8000 words, but I love you guys and you deserve a long chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**Chapter 16: Saturday Night at the Movies**

"Angelique, Optimus and I are having a movie night tonight. It's a group thing, if you want, you can come."

Angelique turned to her sister a bit surprised by the abruptness of her invitation. She blinked a couple times, allowing the words to sink in. "What time would it be?" she asked.

"Around seven," she answered, "It'll probably be in the hangout here in the base since it'll hold a lot of people and the television is so big, everyone would be able to see."

"Wait a minute; is this a double date type thing?"

"Yes."

"What if I don't have a date?"

"You're still invited."

"What movie are you going to watch?"

Aurora glanced around and then whispered, "It's a secret, so don't tell anyone. We're going to watch Transformers. I think the real transformers reaction to the movie could prove to be priceless."

Angelique grinned, "I so have to get Megatron to come. Wouldn't he love to see his form in the movie?"

Aurora laughed, "Hmm…he might blow up the TV is the only thing."

"So, we'll make him get a new one if that's the case."

"Yeah, I'll have to see if he's getting out of the med bay or not. Red Alert has been kind of leery about letting him out too early, just because of the nature of the coma that he was in. I just think he really wants to get out."

"Did you talk to Wing-Saber yet?" Aurora asked.

Angelique shook her head, "No. I slept all day Friday, and I haven't seen him at all today."

"Are you trying to find him?"

"Not really, I'm still sort of mad at him."

"You can't hold a grudge forever."

Angelique shot Aurora an annoyed look. "Um…did you forget what he did to Megatron? He almost killed him. In the real world, if they had been humans, Wing-Saber would have been charged with attempted murder. He's getting away clean, and the worst part is, he isn't sorry for what he did. Optimus let him go without punishment…Megatron wants to kill him…and you want me to talk to him. What good is that going to do? We'll just fight more. And like Megatron said, I don't want Wing-Saber doing to me what he did to Megatron only because he might kill me."

"Wing-Saber wouldn't do that to you."

"What would hold him back?"

"He cares about you."

"I don't think he cares as much as he used to."

"What about you?" Aurora asked, "If you don't feel the same way about him, which I'm pretty sure you don't if you don't want to find him and talk to him, then why do you put up with him? If you care about him and yourself, you will end your relationship with him and pursue other would-be suitors."

"Psh, what other would-be suitors? I can't be with a human anymore, Megatron ruined that for me. Optimus and Red Alert just brought online three new femmes, which means three mechs are going to grab them. Thundercracker is taken, Optimus is taken, Hotshot will probably get with Override, Ransack and Crumplezone have each other…that only leaves Starscream, Red Alert, Jetfire, and Megatron."

"I'm guessing you don't want Red Alert."

Angelique shook her head, "Nope. Starscream would be too whiney and I don't think he likes me. Jetfire is too closely associated with Wing-Saber anyway."

"So…Megatron?"

"Well, that's always been a given."

"Hm…" Aurora remarked.

"What?"

"Oh…nothing."

"That's a lie; you've got something in mind."

Aurora shrugged, "Just a theory. It's not important anyways. Go talk to Wing-Saber. I've got more invites to give out and stuff."

"Yes miss bossy," Angelique remarked and mock-saluted her.

Aurora shook her head and walked away. Angelique sighed heavily as she watched her go and decided to go to the hangout and see what was on TV. However, as she rounded the corner of the hallway, she nearly crashed into Wing-Saber. She sighed heavily as she remarked, "These corners are dangerous. We need someone to put up mirrors so we can tell whether or not someone is coming."

"No you see," Wing-Saber remarked, "Sometimes we mechs want to walk around the corner only to crash into a beautiful femme. It's very worth it sometimes."

Angelique crossed her arms and looked up at him, "I wouldn't call myself beautiful."

"Well I guess you haven't looked in a mirror lately," he retorted, "Are you ready to talk yet? I don't think there's any point of putting it off any longer."

"I suppose you're right…well you can start."

Wing-Saber sighed heavily, "I guess the ritual of ladies first was forgotten…alright well, I'll start by saying I'm sorry. I know Megatron means a lot to you…which is weird to everyone in this base, Autobots and Decepticons alike…and I shouldn't get too jealous. I know your affections are to me only because you're consistent, you always come back to me."

"But we fight a lot…"

"And we make up a lot."

"It's a roller coaster—

"I'll make it worth the ride—

"You hurt me by hurting Megatron."

"And now that he's healed I'll heal you too."

"I don't think it works that way."

"It can, I just want another chance Angelique. I haven't had the chance to prove myself to you and I want that chance…but I can't get that chance unless you forgive me and let me have it."

"I'll have to think about it."

"That's fair enough," he said and suddenly he grabbed her by the shoulders, startling her. He looked her straight in the eye as he continued, "But don't forget you have my spark…and you always will."

"Wing-Saber…"

He smiled, "Shh, you don't need to say anything. Now let's check on that old coot."

"You mean…Megatron?"

"Who else would I mean? Optimus told me I needed to apologize to him. There's no better way to do it than in front of you that way you know it happened."

"Regardless, I doubt Megatron is going to accept it…I doubt he'll even accept seeing you come into the med bay." Angelique didn't exactly want to mention how Megatron wanted her to stay away from Wing-Saber and with him instead.

She liked the idea of it, but she knew Wing-Saber wouldn't.

"Well, he's going to have to deal with me."

"Good luck."

"Uh…thanks."

* * *

Aurora was happy when she slipped into the med bay only to find Red Alert busy at his computer, explaining things to Syndrome who was currently a medic-in-training, but according to the seasoned medic, she was learning very quickly. Aurora then glanced over to the recharge berth where Megatron was only to see him sitting up and glaring in the direction of the two medics. Sighing heavily, Aurora walked over to the Decepticon leader's recharge berth and said, "We need to talk."

Megatron glanced at her, "Oh great, now I have the other fleshling pestering me."

She shrugged, "I just got a couple questions then I'll be on my way and you can watch Red Alert and Syndrome some more."

"Please don't make me gag," he said as he looked to her, "Alright, what do you want?"

Aurora glanced over at Red Alert and Syndrome who hadn't noticed she was in the room yet. She looked back to Megatron feeling a bit intimidated. "Do you know when Red Alert is letting you out of here?" she asked.

"I think later today…why?"

"Well um…perhaps when you get out of here you can do Angelique a favor."

"I don't do favors, you should know that, and did she put you up to this?"

Aurora shook her head no, "She didn't, this is my idea. She stayed with you all through your coma, and if it hadn't been for her, you'd probably be dead right now. Since she really likes you, I think it would be nice of you to take her out on a date."

"Date?" he choked on the word and then he laughed, "Who do you think I am?"

She was irritated now, "Honestly, what's so wrong with date? It'd be a nice way to say thank you to her for everything she's done for you."

"I refuse to show a softer side."

"Why, so you can keep up your reputation of being heartless?" Aurora questioned and then added bitterly, "Well here's a newsflash for you, your reputation died when you agreed to peace with the Autobots. Nobody is going to hate you for showing a softer side Megatron; in fact it might even be appreciated more around the base, even with your own Decepticons who hate you. There's nothing wrong with making a new reputation for yourself…you're going to have to since you have none."

"My reputation did not die," Megatron hissed.

"Well, everything you fought for did," and she sighed heavily, "Look, I didn't come here to give you this speech. I just came asking for one evening, it isn't that much."

"You humans are such a nagging species."

"Persistence pays off."

Megatron smirked and shook his head, "I suppose you have this date all arranged."

"To a degree…it'd be tonight so you can get it over with if you want. All you would have to do is sit and watch a movie with her."

"That's all?"

"Nothing else."

"There better be something in this for me."

"Well uh…what do you want?"

Megatron was just about to say something when the doors to the med bay opened and Angelique walked inside with Wing-Saber. Angelique winced when she felt the Autobot elbow her in the side and he exclaimed, "See, you didn't have to worry about him being in a recharge, I told you he would be awake."

"I didn't say I was worried about him being in one…I just was hoping he was…"

Megatron glared at the Autobot, but addressed Angelique. "Human," he growled, "I told you to stay away from him."

"Fate will not allow us to be apart though," Wing-Saber said.

"More like the contours of this base…" Angelique mumbled and then she asked, "Aurora what are you doing here?"

She glanced at Megatron who glanced at her. "I was uh...just—

"Inquiring when I would be leaving the med bay and giving me a whole spiel about how I better stay away from you," Megatron said.

Aurora blinked a couple times and then nodded, "Right…why are you here?"

"Ask him," Angelique said pointing to Wing-Saber.

"I'll be blunt," Wing-Saber confessed, "Megatron I came here to apologize."

The Decepticon leader scowled, "You've got to be kidding. Do you honestly think an apology would fix everything? And I doubt you're really sorry. You're doing it as a show, you think if you do this Angelique will be happy with you and you two can go on as you were."

"If I didn't care about her I wouldn't be doing this, I don't care what the slag happens to you."

"Oh Primus, why does every fight take place in the med bay?" Red Alert asked suddenly as he turned to them, "Get out of here and carry this on elsewhere!"

"He can go?" Aurora asked pointing to Megatron.

"Yes, get him out of here, _please_."

"Uh…come on," Angelique said as she took Wing-Saber by the hand and led him out of the med bay.

Megatron started to follow when Aurora grabbed his hand, causing him to stop. "What?" he asked annoyed.

"Why did you cover for me when Angelique asked why I was here?"

He huffed and pulled his hand away, "I figured you wanted to keep it a surprise."

"You mean…you're going to go on a date with her?"

"I will, but you will owe me in the future."

"Alright…hopefully you'll forget about it."

"Don't count on it," Megatron said as he left the med bay. When he got to the hallway outside of the med bay, he saw Angelique trying to convince Wing-Saber to keep walking, but the Autobot was being stubborn.

Wing-Saber heard the doors to the med bay open and close and he looked to see Megatron. "Good, now that you're out here, are you going to hear my apology or not?" he asked.

"I will not, but the best apology you could give me is letting go of Angelique and walking away from here," Megatron responded, "Considering how quickly you lose your temper and how you _almost_ killed me…I don't think Angelique is safe with you."

Wing-Saber growled, "What makes you think you're any better than me? You almost killed _her_ before!"

"But she still prefers me," Megatron said smugly.

"She does not prefer you, you don't give her the chance to date you or anything…she's always come back to me."

"I really do not care to get into this argument with you again," explained the Decepticon leader, "I don't approve of her relationship with you considering she is a Decepticon and you are an Autobot. I know that her loyalty is unquestionably to me and that it always will be no matter what you and I do, she made that decision years ago while you and I were trapped in that unconventional and inconvenient stasis. She may not admit it, but she doesn't love you. Her affections are to me, even if I don't reciprocate them."

Angelique looked away from Megatron and to the floor. Painful tears formed in her eyes and a small blush rose on her cheeks. Wing-Saber pressed his lips together before he said angrily, "If you don't reciprocate them then, leave us alone. I'll actually take care of her unlike you will."

"I do not have the desire to take care of her."

"Then why are you so persistent on getting her away from me?"

"She is a Decepticon, you an Autobot."

"I don't have time for this!" Wing-Saber exclaimed exasperated before he stormed away.

Megatron grinned as he watched him go and when he was out of seeing and hearing range, the Decepticon leader said, "I have a question for you."

"Uh…what?"

"Aurora mentioned something about a movie tonight…" he began.

"Oh…yeah Aurora's having a movie night, she's going around and inviting a bunch of people."

"Perhaps you would go with me?"

Her cheeks flushed, but the tears threatened to leak out of her eyes, so she quickly turned her back to him and hugged herself tightly. "I uh…no…it's probably not the best idea."

Megatron's optics widened and shock prickled at his sensors, "Did you just…say no?"

"I did—

"Why?" he demanded as a slight anger began to settle in.

She managed to get a little control of herself and turned to him again. "I'm pretty sure Aurora put you up to it and you made some sort of bargain with her, you do something nice for her, she'll do something nice for you…and besides…you don't really want to. After what you just told Wing-Saber, there's no point." With that, she sighed heavily, turned, and started to walk away.

* * *

"Angelique always knows how to stir up trouble," Red Alert mused as Megatron left the room.

He was about to turn back to his work when Aurora spoke up and said, "I guess…um…Optimus and I are having a movie night tonight at around seven in the hangout…you guys are invited to come if you want to."

"What's the movie?" Syndrome asked.

Aurora grinned, "That is a surprise. But I got to be going; I have more people to invite. I'll see you guys later." Aurora left the med bay and stepped into the hallway only to see Megatron standing there with a not-so-pleasant look on his face.

"Um…" Aurora said when she met his gaze, "I think I'll leave you alone."

"What did you tell her?" Megatron asked.

Aurora swallowed hard when she saw a small fire begin to burn behind his optics. "What do you mean?" she remarked as fear started to gnaw at her.

"She said no."

Aurora's eyes widened and she blinked a couple times, "You're kidding right?"

Megatron shook his head no and Aurora glanced around him only to see Angelique about to turn a corner. She shouted, "Hey Angelique! Get back here!"

Angelique stopped and looked at her. She hesitated and glanced back down the hallway before she walked back to Megatron and Aurora. "What do you want?" she asked.

"Why'd you say no?" Aurora pressed.

"He knows why," she replied, "And I really don't want to act like the stereotypical heartbroken teenager right now…so I'll be going."

"Femmes," Megatron murmured under his breath.

"Decepticon leaders," Angelique retorted earning a glare from Megatron.

"Angelique, will you just say yes? Obviously the ever obnoxious one cannot handle rejection."

"What's the point?" Angelique asked, "It'd just get my hopes up even more about him and I don't want my heart toyed with. If my hopes get up any higher, if he kissed me, I might just die."

"Maybe we should try that…" Megatron mused.

Aurora growled, "I don't think so."

"It was just a suggestion."

"I don't care," remarked the older sister, "Alright Angelique, don't go with him. See if Wing-Saber will take you—

"No!" Megatron growled this time and then looked to Angelique, "If you go with him, I will lock you up and you will never see the light of day again."

Angelique balled her fist over her chest and then grabbed at her chest, directly over her Decepticon insignia. Aurora saw that it was her feeble attempt to rip the mark off. The younger sibling sighed heavily before mumbling, "Alright, I'll go with you."

Aurora sighed heavily before turning away grumbling, "All this over a stupid movie." And she walked away.

"She's got the right idea," Angelique said as she turned away again and walked away herself.

Megatron watched her disappear around the corner before he could say anything else. He shook his head and headed back to his base, it had been awhile since he had last been there…he had business to take care of.

* * *

Aurora ran over a list of people she was going to invite and mumbled to herself, "Okay, I got Red Alert and Syndrome, Megatron and Angelique; I still need Thundercracker and Thunderblast, Hotshot and Override, and basically everybody else." She glanced around and saw Wing-Saber walking down the hall talking…more like flirting with Lynk. She pursed her lips to the side and said, "I thought you were trying to get back together with Angelique."

"I am," Wing-Saber remarked, "But Lynk needs friends too."

Aurora shrugged, "I can't argue against that. I have another question though."

"Go for it."

"Okay, Optimus and I are having this movie night tonight in the hangout at seven, you and Lynk are invited to come if you would like."

"Would this be a group date?" Lynk asked.

Aurora nodded, "I think that's what we're aiming for."

"Oh…well…I guess I'll have to find someone to go with," Lynk said as she glanced at Wing-Saber.

"What are you talking about? Your date is standing right next to you, we just won't let Angelique find out about this," Wing-Saber remarked, "We'll catch you later Aurora." And he and Lynk walked away.

Aurora went to cross their names off her list when she realized something. "Oh crap," she breathed, "Wing-Saber is going with Lynk and Angelique with Megatron…this…is going to be World War III and World War IV combined."

She sighed heavily knowing that there wasn't anything that she could really do about it and instead went on to invite others. By late that afternoon, Red Alert and Syndrome had informed her that they would be going; Jetfire and Sky-Shadow were going along with Thundercracker and Thunderblast, Hotshot and Override, Ransack and Crumplezone, and Starscream. There were not enough femmes or mechs for Starscream to have a date, but he didn't realize nor care. He didn't want one; nonetheless, Aurora couldn't help but feel bad, especially since he was the only one who would be going as a single.

Aurora was walking down a hall headed for Optimus' office when suddenly someone grabbed her from behind and snaked their arms around her waist. She was hugged tightly as an angelic voice said, "Afternoon Aurora, did you get all the invitations out?"

"I did, but we have a couple problems."

"Oh?"

"First, Wing-Saber and Lynk are going together…and Megatron and Angelique are going together."

"Wait…Megatron is going, and with Angelique?"

"Yeah it's surprising, he asked her, and after some convincing, Angelique agreed to go with him. Thing of it is, Wing-Saber is still bidding for her…but he's going with Lynk so she doesn't feel so left out. Neither couple know the other is coming."

"Well…we'll have to deal with that when it becomes an issue. What's the other problem?"

"Starscream agreed to come only because I think Megatron told him he had to or something, but he doesn't have a date, we ran out of femmes."

"Well…I don't think he'll care…but next time we'll have to make sure everyone has someone. Perhaps you have a human friend he would be interested in?"

"I think Angelique has a few. I'll have to ask her."

Optimus nodded, "But she has to be trustworthy."

"We'll make sure of it. We don't want anyone telling your secret."

Optimus turned her in his arms so that she was facing him, "I trust you Aurora. I know you wouldn't bring anyone in here purposefully that would reveal our existence."

She smiled and watched as he leaned down and gave her a soft, gentle kiss.

* * *

Megatron groaned when he heard the doors fly open to throne room and he looked over only to see Angelique come in. "Come on Megs, it's almost seven and I want to get there early so that we can get good seats. According to Aurora there is a shit load of people coming and I don't want to be stuck sitting on the floor," she explained in a breath.

"Don't call me Megs," he retorted as he stood from his throne and walked over to her.

Angelique seized his hand with hers when he reached her and led him out of the room. He smirked, "A little eager aren't we?"

"I can't help it," Angelique said with a small blush on her face, "I'd say something really corny and sappy right now, but I know you wouldn't like it nor appreciate it, so I'm keeping my mouth shut."

"If we're on a date you mine as well say it."

Her blush increased slightly, "Well uh…I can't help it that I'm eager because…I've always dreamed of having a night like this."

Megatron shook his head and Angelique pulled on his hand, trying to make him walk faster, "Come on, we got to hurry up."

He planted his feet in the ground causing Angelique to stop as she attempted to pull him forward. When she couldn't do it she sighed heavily and said, "Alright, sit on the floor, see how you like it."

He began walking forward again, this time faster. The girl smiled, "I thought so."

When they got to the hangout, Optimus and Aurora were already there, along with Syndrome and Red Alert, and Hotshot and Override. Megatron hesitated in the doorway as optics began to look his way. Angelique took his hand and said, "Don't worry about them, you all have an alliance. Plus I'll kick their butts tomorrow if they give you any sort of lip." Megatron shook his head and continued into the room.

Angelique then looked to Aurora who was sitting on the couch with Optimus. "Hey big sis!" she called, "Scoot over, you better have saved us a spot!"

Aurora sighed heavily as Angelique squished herself on the couch next to her and then Megatron sat down beside her, pressed against the arm of the chair. "Somebody needs to get a smaller butt," Angelique groaned as she tried to sit in a more comfortable position.

"We just need a bigger couch," Aurora said, "But now that you're here I need to warn you about something."

"What?"

"I invited Wing-Saber and he's coming, I forgot that you and Megatron were coming together."

"Oh…crap," Angelique remarked as she glanced towards the door, "Um…warn me if you see him, I'll duck down. Do we have a blanket or something?"

Optimus took one out of his subspace and handed it to Angelique, "Use this. When he gets here, get down and cover yourself up, we'll keep the lights off."

"You wouldn't happen to have a pillow in there would you?" Angelique asked.

Megatron pulled a pillow out from between him and the arm of the couch, "Here…though I don't see why you would need it."

The girl took it and set it on Megatron's lap. "I shall assume the position," she said as she curled herself into a ball and rested her head on the pillow on Megatron's lap.

Megatron groaned, as well as Aurora and Optimus when the girl spread her legs out across them. "This is not going to work," Aurora remarked.

"Fine," Angelique stated as she sat back up.

"Here, if we do this the right way, Wing-Saber isn't going to know," Optimus said as he pulled Aurora against him and pulled the blanket over her lap, "Angelique, put the pillow against Megatron's thigh and put your head on that, now Megatron, keep Angelique covered enough so that it looks like Aurora's feet are sticking out."

"Ooo, Aurora, you and I get to play footsies!"

"I really don't like how you sound so excited about that," Aurora remarked as Angelique did as Optimus told her to.

More and more people arrived and then finally Wing-Saber walked in with Lynk. He immediately noticed the Decepticon leader and tensed. "Why are you here?" he asked as he pointed to Megatron.

Megatron glanced over at him and a sly grin went across his face, "I'm here because I was invited by Aurora. Did you get over Angelique? That femme on your arm seems rather convincing that you have."

Angelique immediately began struggling under the blanket, trying to get out from under it. Her leg flailed upwards into Wing-Saber's view, but the blanket was covering it. Aurora bit her lip and immediately grabbed a hold of Angelique's leg. Megatron began to rub a hand along her covered arm and back instantly calming her down as Aurora dumbly apologized, "Sorry…massive leg twitch…"

Wing-Saber shrugged, "Its okay, it happens."

Lynk blinked a couple times and then suggested, "Maybe you should have Red Alert check that out, it could be restless leg syndrome."

Aurora grinned nervously, "I'll be okay." She could feel Optimus chuckling.

"Anyways," Wing-Saber said, "My affairs are none of your business Megatron."

"Affairs?" he asked still grinning as he continued stroking Angelique.

"You know what I mean," Wing-Saber remarked as he went and took a seat on a small sofa, Lynk sat beside him.

Starscream was the last one to arrive. He noticed an empty space between Aurora and Megatron on the couch and he smirked, "You left a space for me?"

"No!" Optimus, Aurora, and Megatron all yelled in unison as they kept the spot covered.

Aurora sighed heavily, "My legs are there."

Starscream shook his head and took a seat in a chair. Once he was settled, Optimus took the television remote and pressed play, and the movie immediately started. Megatron and Starscream seemed to be the only ones impressed by Blackout's attack in the beginning. Various transformers laughed at Sam's seemingly futile attempts to win Mikaela over and Bumblebee's spunk.

Some of the Autobots cheered when Bumblebee got his new vehicle form and Optimus admitted he was impressed by his own form, though a little work could have been done with the face. Some of the Autobots were upset that they weren't in the movie, but they kept watching anyway. There were groans and chuckles at the masturbation part, and the Decepticons seemed to be the only ones happy when Bumblebee was captured.

It was when the movie shifted to the Hoover Dam when things got interesting. Megatron had made some remarks about his form when it was shown through brief flashbacks…but somehow everyone, except for Aurora and Angelique, had been convinced that Megatron had gotten a new form. When Sam revealed that NBE-1 was Megatron, the Decepticon leader's jaw dropped as he roared, "WHAT?! Whoever made this movie _destroyed_ my form!"

People snickered only fueling Megatron's rage. "Wait until I get my hands on the director—

"Megatron calm down, at least wait until the movie is over," said Optimus.

Megatron growled, but kept his silence. Some were impressed by Optimus' somewhat cruel way of killing Bonecrusher, they laughed at Frenzy's last words, Starscream was now ranting about how he looked like a Dorito with limbs, and Megatron was furious when he saw how Sam was the one who killed him in the end. He growled, "Of all ways to die…murdered by a human."

And then the next jaw dropper was unleashed. Optimus, in the movie, revealed how he and Megatron were brothers. Both Megatron's and Optimus' jaws dropped and they looked at each other. Optimus looked like he was going to gag. "Brother?" he whispered but it sounded like choke.

"I don't _think_ so," Megatron remarked and then shuddered.

"In the Transformers Autobots Nintendo DS game, Optimus reveals how you guys were brothers and ruled in peace and then you, Megatron, killed your father and started a rebellion or something like that," Aurora explained.

Megatron shook his head as the movie ended and Optimus turned the television off. A few of the bots exchanged glances and then Thundercracker asked, "So…where's the after party at?"

"After party?" Wing-Saber piped up, "There better be an after party."

"Uh…it's here," Aurora said, "You guys can knock yourselves out."

"Sweet," Thundercracker remarked as he turned on the disco lights and turned off the regular lights.

Megatron groaned as music was turned on loudly and some of the transformers began bowling, others got high grade energon cubes, and some sat around talking. Aurora and Optimus decided to stay for some of the party, but Megatron was not about to. Angelique wanted to, but she didn't want to risk anything with Wing-Saber. When he wasn't looking, she snuck out of the hangout with Megatron behind her.

She yawned loudly before saying, "Aurora better stay long enough to tell me what happens."

"Why would you want to stay and watch people act like fools?"

"Sometimes acting like a fool is fun."

"Then go back if you want, you can deal with Wing-Saber. Just don't do anything stupid."

"Why would you care if I did anything stupid?"

Megatron let out a string of Cybertronian curses before he said, "Earlier…outside the med bay, when I told Wing-Saber all that stuff…not all of it was true. You are my Decepticon, linked solely to me by Primus knows what, no I don't reciprocate your feelings, but I appreciate them nonetheless, it's nice to know that at least _one_ person actually cares about me. So…I guess it'd be nice to keep you around, no matter how annoying you can get at times. Just don't tell anyone about this."

Angelique grinned, "So…we're friends?"

"If you would like to call us that."

"I would."

"Alright," he said as he extended his hand to her, "Friends."

Angelique glanced at his hand for a moment and ignored it as she threw herself against him in a crushing hug. "I'm so happy right now I could kiss you," she exclaimed.

Megatron felt his cheeks redden as he gently pushed her away. "Try to refrain from doing that again," he said awkwardly.

She observed the slight blush on his white cheeks and smiled softly. "I'll be back in hour," and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she disappeared back inside the hangout.

Megatron groaned as he felt his blush burn brighter. He quickly turned and walked away glad that Angelique was leaving him alone for a little while. He didn't like this new effect she was having on him.

* * *

Angelique went inside only to immediately catch Wing-Saber's gaze. He grinned sheepishly at her and motioned for her to come to him. Angelique noticed that Optimus and Aurora were bowling, Lynk was sitting next to Wing-Saber, but at the moment she was talking to Sky-Shadow. Reluctantly she walked over to him and took a seat next to him at the bar. "Where were you earlier?" he asked, "Megatron came but you didn't."

She shrugged, "Didn't feel like coming. I only came now to see what was going on."

"Well you came at the right time. Here, let me get you a drink."

There was no formal bartender, so Wing-Saber actually got her an energon cube and gave it to her. Angelique took a small sip and noticed it tasted a little different than the energon Red Alert had given her in the med bay. She shrugged it off though and drank the cube.

* * *

By 11:00pm, both Aurora and Optimus were tired and had seen enough of the party. They left without glancing at the bar. Instead, Optimus lifted Aurora in his arms and stepped through a space gate, only to end up in a grassy field outside of the base. He had grabbed the blanket before he left, and he spread it out on the ground and laid down on it before motioning for Aurora to join him. She smiled and laid down beside him, gazing up at the billions of stars.

A breeze hit her suddenly and she shivered a little, "It's kind of cold out here."

Optimus wrapped her in his arms and pulled her closer to him. "Sorry about that," he said, "How about we stay out here tonight and sleep under the heavens?" And he looked at her.

She smiled as she continued watching the stars, "You can be really romantic when you want to be. We can stay here."

He kissed her cheek, showing his approval of her agreement. "You know," he murmured, "The stars are more beautiful when they're reflecting in your eyes."

She looked at him before snuggling against him. "I love you Optimus," she breathed.

"I love you too Aurora."

* * *

Megatron waited impatiently in his throne room. Angelique had said she would be back in an hour…well…here it was almost two hours later and she still hadn't shown. He was getting angry, not because she had gone back on her word, but because he had a gut feeling that she had done something stupid. He was tempted to go to his quarters and get some recharge and find her in the morning, but he didn't want anything bad to happen to her…snarling, he got up and opened a dimension gate which led to the hangout. He stepped through and ended up right where he wanted to be, but the sight he saw before him made his optics widen and his draw drop for the third time that evening.

Wing-Saber had her on the couch pressed against the arm of it so she couldn't get up from where she was. He was leaning in for a kiss, his hands snaking up her shirt. Before he realized what he was doing, Megatron had torn Wing-Saber away from Angelique and carried her out of the hangout before he could see the Autobot's reaction. Once away from the hangout, he dragged the girl down a couple hallways as she stumbled behind him before he finally pinned her to a wall and demanded, "What do you think you were doing?"

"He said he wanted some love," she said in a drunken stupor.

Megatron's face contorted into an angry scowl as he noticed something. "How did your shirt get inside out?"

She shrugged, "I dunno."

He growled and released his grip only so he could fix her shirt. He took it off of her only to notice something that made anger boil through his circuits and a loathing fire burn behind his optics. "Who did this?" he seethed.

Angelique took a frightened step back, "W-Wing-Saber."

He growled ferociously as he put Angelique's shirt back on her, not so gently. He didn't want to look at the red Autobot insignia that had been drawn, colored, and inked thoroughly over her Decepticon insignia with a permanent marker. He grabbed her and lifted her in his arms as he said in a menacing voice, "You're coming with me." He then opened a dimension gate and stepped through it and ended up in his quarters. He set Angelique down on the couch that was in the living area before he walked into the cleansing room and grabbed a towel and threw it at her.

"Take a shower," he said, "And make sure you wash that abomination off your chest. Actually, take a cold one; it might sober you up a bit."

"Which one?" she asked as she pulled down her shirt a little, revealing the insignias, "There's two here and then there's two more over here."

Megatron realized that she was seeing double and groaned. If she couldn't see straight, she'd never be able to walk over to the cleansing room by herself, she wouldn't be able to turn the water on, she wouldn't know where to stand to let the water hit her, she'd probably fall and hurt herself in the shower. And he didn't want just that spot washed; he wanted her entire body scoured of every single impurity Wing-Saber had inflicted on her. That left him with two options.

One, he could strip her down completely naked and shower with her or two, he could at least strip her down to her undergarments and still take the shower. Megatron sighed heavily not really liking either option, but he took the girl in his arms yet again and walked over to the cleansing room. He stripped her of her clothes, but left her undergarments on.

Angelique shivered a bit and Megatron shook his head as he said, "You chose one of the worst days to wear white."

"What do you mean? I was born a Caucasian."

Megatron offlined his optics and breathed out loudly as he tried to refrain himself from shaking the heck out of her. When he regained his self control, he let his optics come back online and pulled Angelique inside the cleansing room with him. He turned on the water so that it was cold, but not freezing cold, just cold enough to shock the nearly naked female. The cleansing fluid worked immediately to remove the permanent marker, which bled down her body into the drain.

Megatron tried to avoid looking at her undergarments, but he couldn't help himself. Her bra was thick and he couldn't quite see through it, but her panties were another story. He glanced down, got a show, and had to look away with his optics offline.

"I'm c-cold," Angelique shivered as she turned and faced him, pressing herself against him.

Megatron pushed her away and into the cold water, but he only got a better view of her and he had to offline his optics again. "Can you shut the water off?" he asked.

She reached over and shut the water off and then looked herself over, "Why aren't your optics online? You've seen me naked before. Am I really that hideous?"

Megatron turned his optics back on only to watch her eyes fill with tears. A bewildered expression went across his face as he turned towards the door, "You're impossible femme!"

She took the towel and dried herself off with it before grabbing another one and wrapping it around herself. She attempted to follow Megatron out of the cleansing room, but she still couldn't walk straight, so he took her by the hand and led her out and over to the couch. "How long does it take your hair to dry?" he asked.

"I dunno…why don't you ask it?"

Megatron refrained himself from slapping her as he remarked through clenched teeth, "I don't think you would like it if I did."

She laughed, "It's okay, it doesn't got feelings…kinda like you."

"Oh really?" he asked as he went back to the cleansing room and grabbed another towel. He walked back to her and began to towel dry her hair, roughly.

"Hey…hey stop! That hurts!"

"I thought your hair didn't have feelings."

"Well, the roots do."

He was a little less rough and asked, "Who gave you the high grade energon?"

"Wingsy said he was gonna get me a drink, and he did."

"Did he tell you it was going to be a high grade?"

"No, he just said he was gonna get me a drink. I think he got me six."

Megatron's optics widened momentarily as he gawked, "Six?! You know what kind of a hangover you're going have tomorrow?"

"What am I gonna be hanging over tomorrow?"

"A cliff if my patience wears thin enough," Megatron explained, "I told you not to do anything stupid. Next time I'm not letting you go to any party."

"You're no fun."

Megatron smirked sinisterly when he realized that he could do pretty much whatever he wanted, she wasn't going to remember any of this tomorrow. "You know this was our date Angelique, you went and ruined it."

"I…didn't ruin it. We're back together now…"

"You cheated on me. I thought you would be more loyal than what you appeared to be."

She looked at him, "But I am loyal…I came back…I stayed with you all through that coma."

"But you took your shirt off for another mech…an Autobot at that."

Her eyes filled with tears and she turned completely to him, "I'll take my shirt off for you…and everything else."

Megatron's optics widened, "Really?"

"Yes sir, all you got to do is ask me."

"Well…keep your clothes on for now. I'm too mad at you to do anything with you. Now, you sit here and dry off, I'm going to get some recharge," Megatron said as he got up from the couch and started walking away.

"No!" she exclaimed as she stumbled off the couch and threw herself against him, hugging his back, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" he scoffed as he stopped walking.

"I know I'm drunk," she cried, "I never wanted to try a drink in my life because I knew it would do this to me. Wing-Saber tricked me, I don't know what he had in mind for me, but don't blame me for this. I owe you."

"Owe me?"

"If you hadn't have come back in to check on me or get me, whatever it was, God knows what Wing-Saber and I would be doing right now. Just don't toss me aside anymore, I don't know if I'm strong enough to be thrown away by you again. You know my loyalty is with you, every _ounce_ of me is with you…"

Megatron turned in her arms and looked at her. "Do you love me?" he asked without any sort of emotion in his voice.

"Yes."

"You've never said it to my face."

"I love you," she breathed.

"Why?" he demanded.

"I _don't know _why I just _do_."

He shook his head aggravated and he grabbed her by the arm and led her over to his recharge berth. "You can stay with me," he said, "But only for tonight."

She shed the towel and slowly crawled into the bed. Once she was settled, Megatron laid down beside her and pulled a thick blanket over them. He gave the command for the lights to go out and rolled over with his back to Angelique. Tears were still trickling down her cheeks and she sniffled from time to time. That went on for about half an hour until Megatron rolled over and faced her. He took her in his arms and pulled her against him as he breathed, "Stop crying."

"Megatron I'm sorry…I don't care if you're mad at me—

"I'm not mad anymore."

He watched the most broken look go across her face before it crumpled and she hid it from him as she sobbed, "But you don't love me."

* * *

Aurora was stiff when she woke up the next morning, but when she looked around and remembered where she was, she knew the slight pain that she was in was definitely worth it. She leaned down smiling and gave Optimus a kiss before she whispered, "Morning."

He sighed, smiled, and his golden optics flickered online as he breathed back, "Morning sweetheart. What do you say we go to your room in your house and catch another hour or two of sleep?"

Aurora nodded, "That sounds just fine."

They stood and Aurora grabbed the blanket. Together they walked back towards the house. When they got to the front door, Aurora noticed a note taped to it. "What's this?" she mused to herself as she took the note down from the door and read it.

_To whom it may concern:_

_The Village Board has proposed the construction of a limestone mine and the allotted site for the construction of the mine involves a portion of your property. The property in question is the gully behind the house, which is suspected to be rich in limestone. The Board is willing to pay for the property and the price is negotiable. Please contact the Village Board within the next ten days to further discuss this._

_Thank you,  
Daniel McHugh  
Chairman of the Village Board _

"Oh no," Aurora breathed and she quickly checked the date on the letter. It had already been six days.

"What's the matter?" Optimus asked.

"The Village Board wants to buy some of our property to build a limestone mine."

"What part of the property?"

She winced, "The part where we built the base."

* * *

Dun dun dun...so just what is this theory that Aurora has that she wouldn't tell Angelique? Will Starscream ever get a date? What's going to happen between Wing-Saber, Angelique, and Megatron? And now what are they going to do about the proposed limestone mine? Keep reading to find out!

I gotta apologize since this will probably be the only story I update over my spring break. I have 10 essays to write, seven for scholarships, three for English. Plus I have AP Government homework that I need to get to. Spring Break started out with a bang though, I got a phone call that my great-grandmother was quote "on her way out" and I was home alone and couldn't get in touch with my parents...but that issue resolved itself many thanks to livinglife who had the brain power to tell me to call my sister who was with my parents. But that was Friday, here it is almost a week later and my great-grandmother is still alive, she didn't die, but most of the family still believes she's on her way out considering she is 101 years old and refuses to eat anything.

Nonetheless, enough rambling...I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review! (less than 9 weeks left of school!)


	17. Eminent Domain

Mmaky so I was gone the last two weeks camping...and it rained 11 out of the 14 days that we were there. It was...suckish. But I did get the chance to see Revenge of the Fallen...and we all know how that was, beyond kick ass. Anyways, despite the fact that I didn't have internet access or a signal for my cellphone for that matter (curse AT&T), I did bring my laptop along and typed up a few chapters to a few stories. I hope you guys enjoy this one, and I apologize for the wait.

* * *

**Chapter 17: Eminent Domain**

Megatron felt a smile go across his lips when he woke up to Angelique groaning as if she had just been hit by a semi. He rolled over and looked at her and he knew that she had never looked anymore miserable. She had a hand shielding her eyes, her hair was strewn about in every which direction, she was paler than a ghost, and she looked absolutely exhausted. The Decepticon leader knew that he could have fun with this.

"How are you feeling?" he asked a little louder than what was necessary and grinned when she winced.

"Oh my God what are you doing in my bed?" she moaned without much energy.

"You're in mine."

"What? Why am I in your bed then?"

"Don't you remember anything we did last night?"

"No…"

He pulled the covers back on her a little bit and watched as she removed her hand and looked down. "Oh my God," she breathed as she quickly pulled the covers back over herself.

"Your clothes are over there if you want them," Megatron said while trying his hardest not to laugh, "For a virgin you were pretty good."

"You mean…we…"

"You wanted it."

She bolted from the recharge berth suddenly and ran inside the bathroom, the door closing loudly behind her. Megatron laughed as he rolled onto his back, eyeing the bathroom door. He checked the time on his internal clock only to see it was eight in the morning. He figured he wouldn't have to report to the throne room too early this morning since half of his men would be suffering from their own hangovers as well.

Angelique emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later not looking any better than she had been five minutes ago. She didn't even bother glancing at the recharge berth as she headed over to her clothes and fumbled into them, pants first and then shirt. She then collapsed onto the couch when she was finished.

Megatron watched her for a few moments before saying, "I'm surprised you didn't come back over here."

"You've already caused me enough trouble thank you very much."

"It's not my fault you got drunk."

"You took advantage of me."

"I did nothing of the sort. You're just very gullible in the morning."

"You mean…we didn't do anything?"

"No."

"Then why am I here and why was I just in my undergarments?"

Megatron sighed heavily before proceeding to explain to her the events that happened that previous evening. He didn't leave anything out as he explained to her what Wing-Saber had done, why he had brought her back to his quarters, and the events that transpired between them as well. When he was finished, Angelique groaned again saying, "I'm such a jack ass."

"It's about time you admitted that."

"I'm going back to my room."

"You'll never make it in the condition you're in…and Wing-Saber will know where to look for you."

"If you want me to stay here you could've just asked and been a little less rude."

"Shut up human, you kept me up half the night last night, I'm going back to sleep, something I advise you do as well."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

* * *

Optimus took the note from Aurora's hand and read it through himself to make sure that she hadn't read it wrong. Unfortunately though, it said the same thing she had explained to him.

Aurora saw a perplexed, angered, and annoyed expression all cross Optimus' face at once. "Megatron isn't going to like this," he breathed.

"Nobody is going to like this."

"We're going to have to move the base and erase all evidence of our existence within the next four days or else risk being exposed to the public."

"No…we can fight this."

"How? If the village wants your property…"

"Come on Optimus, you're the leader of the Autobots, you're used to representing one voice against many others."

"I suppose you're right, but we still need to get back to the base and tell everyone else about this, including Megatron."

"I don't want to be the one to tell him."

"I'll go then, after I'm finished informing my men."

Aurora nodded, "I'll break the news to Angelique."

"Let's go," Optimus said as he extended his hand to her.

Aurora took it and walked with him back down to the base. They parted at the command center where Optimus went to go inform the rest of the Autobots about the situation. Aurora continued down the hallway towards Angelique's room, figuring that she'd still be asleep. When she got to her sister's room, she knocked on the door, but nobody answered. Slightly irritated, she opened the door and peeked inside. To her surprise, the bed was made and nobody was in the room.

"Hmm…" she mused to herself, "Maybe she's with Wing-Saber…" Aurora shook her head after she thought that, she knew that Angelique was trying her hardest to avoid him. She glanced around and sighed heavily before deciding to try the Decepticon base.

She turned away from Angelique's room and the door hissed closed quietly behind her. It was a rather short walk to the Decepticon base, and since Thundercracker wasn't at his post, she easily walked inside. She wandered down the hallways, trying to decide where she wanted to look first. She figured she'd peek inside the throne room since it was just around the corner, but when she did so, only Starscream was inside.

He noticed her immediately and eyed her skeptically as he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to find Angelique. You wouldn't happen to know where she is would you?"

"Did you try her room? I know a lot of people are suffering from hangovers right now."

"Wait a minute…Angelique went to the after party?"

"Yes, she was there with Wing-Saber. He did some nasty stuff to her."

Aurora closed her eyes and exhaled loudly, "What kind of 'nasty' stuff?"

"Well, he kept giving her high grades and Angelique had absolutely no idea what she was drinking. But he succeeded in getting her drunk and he managed to get her shirt off of her—

"Bra too?"

"No, just her shirt. He then colored and Autobot insignia over her Decepticon one and put her shirt back on her inside out, being the retard that he is. Megatron came not too long after that and got pissed off when he saw Wing-Saber try to lay a fast one on her. He threw him across the room and left with Angelique. I haven't seen either of them since."

"Great, that means she's probably still with him…thanks Starscream."

"Uh…no problem I guess."

Aurora turned and left the room, heading straight for Megatron's quarters.

* * *

Megatron groaned when he checked the time on his internal clock and saw that he had only been asleep for half an hour. Angelique's insatiable groaning was about to strike his last nerve. He sat up on the recharge berth and glared at her. "Will you shut up?" he asked, "And I'm asking nicely."

"Sorry," she remarked, "You know…"

"What?" he snapped.

"Well, you're a great God of Death like Ryuuku in Death Note…except Ryuuku really likes apples."

"What…are you talking about?"

"Anyways, can't you just kill me now?"

Megatron growled and got up from the recharge berth. He went over to the couch and lifted Angelique in his arms and carried her back to his recharge berth where he threw her down, not so nicely. "Now," he said as he climbed onto the recharge berth himself and pinned her down, "Go to sleep!"

The door opened suddenly and both Megatron and Angelique looked over to see Aurora standing there, her eyes wide and a bewildered expression on her face. She swallowed hard before she managed to ask, "Did I…interrupt something?"

"Yes," Angelique responded while Megatron said no.

He glared down at her and she managed to smile sheepishly. Megatron sighed and moved off of her and sat on the edge of the recharge berth. He glared at Aurora as he asked, "What do you want?"

"I was looking for Angelique. I had to tell her something…"

"Well, she's experiencing quite the hangover right now, and you can blame Wing-Saber for that."

"Yeah I know, Starscream already filled me in. I'll take her to Red Alert; he's probably got some instant remedy."

Angelique groaned as she sat up, "What do you need to tell me?"

Aurora glanced cautiously at Megatron before looking back to her sister, "Just…stuff."

Megatron narrowed his optics at her, "I have a feeling this is going to concern me in the future. You mine as well say it to both of us right now."

"Well…alright I guess that's fair. Alright, Angelique do you know Daniel McHugh, chairman of the Village Board?"

"No, why?"

"…Did you know that they were thinking about building a limestone mine?"

Angelique shook her head, "No, and stop riddling me with questions, my head hurts."

"Well, I went up to the house with Optimus this morning and there was a note on our door from the Village Board explaining how they plan to use a portion of our property to build a limestone mine."

"Shit…they want the house?"

Aurora shook her head, "No, they want the base."

"SHIT!"

Megatron growled, "You mean to tell me they want the portion of the property where we built this base?"

Aurora swallowed hard, "Yes…they gave us ten days to get back to them about it, but six days have gone by already."

"Did they give a number to call?" Angelique asked as she massaged her temples.

"I don't know, but it's in the phone book probably."

"In that case," she said, "Have one of the transformers call pretending to be dad or something. Maybe we can talk them out of it."

"And just what transformer would agree to do that?" Aurora asked although she was intrigued by the idea.

Angelique shrugged, "My head hurts too much to think anymore."

Megatron growled, "If we have to move the base, you're going to regret it human."

"Why do you blame everything on me?" Angelique groaned, "Aurora, can you help me to the med bay, I really hope you're right when you say that Red Alert might have a miracle cure to a hangover. This sucks right now."

"Yeah sure, Megatron…do you mind opening a dimension gate?"

"Yes."

Aurora growled, "Do you always have to be such a pain in the ass?"

The Decepticon leader frowned and said, "There's no way I'm doing anything for you now."

The older sister shook her head exasperated and looked to Angelique, "I guess we're walking, come on, I'll help you."

"I might barf on you," Angelique confessed.

"Never mind, you can go by yourself when you're feeling better. I'll let you know how things turned out with this whole Village Board thing." And without waiting for a response from Angelique, Aurora left the room.

Angelique groaned causing the Decepticon leader to scowl, "Not this again."

"Sorry…"

* * *

Aurora had just exited the Decepticon portion of the base when she nearly collided with Optimus. He observed her momentarily before asking, "What are you doing over here?"

"Trying to find Angelique, and yes I did find her with Megatron."

"So I take it they both know what's going on now."

Aurora nodded, "Yeah, and Angelique gave an interesting idea to try that might work in getting the Village Board off our backs."

"What's that?" Optimus asked as he turned and started walking in the direction of his office, Aurora following him.

"It's kind of simple. We find Daniel McHugh's phone number and one of you transformers can pretend to be our father or mother possibly and try to talk him out of using our land for the dumb limestone mine."

"That's a good idea. Where are your parents by the way?"

"Vacation."

"They didn't take you along?"

Aurora shook her head, "No, but I don't really care."

"Why not?"

"Because you guys came to life," she said as she smiled, "That's way better than any vacation, and I got the best boyfriend in the universe in the process."

Optimus smiled this time and wrapped an arm around her. She leaned against him as she asked, "So, what did the rest of the Autobots have to say?"

"Not much, they just expressed their frustration."

"Was Wing-Saber there?"

"Yes."

"Good. Remind me to kill him later."

"Now what did he do?"

"He got my sister drunk, he told her he was going to get her a drink and he got her high-grades, which she drunk not realizing what she was drinking."

"And I'm guessing he did some stuff."

"Took her shirt off."

"That's not unlike him. Leave him to me. He's done enough stuff to that poor girl. I'm breaking them up this time, whether he likes it or not."

"He and Lynk seem to be hitting it off nicely anyways."

"And she doesn't feel anything for Megatron, which makes things a lot easier already. Anyways…what do you need to find that phone number? Red Alert could probably hook you up with a couple gadgets that could help you get the phone number."

Aurora laughed, "That's okay Optimus. There's a phonebook up at the house."

"…Oh."

"I'll go run up to the house and get it. Then you can pretend to be my father."

Optimus nodded, "Alright, then I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Yup," she replied as she ran off ahead of him. It didn't take Aurora long to reach the exit of the base and once she did, she left and headed up towards her house. Once at her house, she immediately went inside and started looking for the phonebook which was conveniently located next to the phone.

She grabbed the book and sat down on the couch with it. She skimmed through the M section of the book that was listed under her town, Smiths Landing, and it didn't take her long to find Daniel McHugh's number. She wrote it down on a piece of paper, as well as his address incase that was needed later. When she finished, she grabbed the piece of paper that she had wrote it on and headed back down to the base.

She then went to Optimus' office where he was waiting and handed him the number saying, "I got it, along with his address."

"These phonebooks you humans have are quite resourceful."

"In most cases at least. Sometimes people request not to have their names put in the phonebook."

"Well, do you have a phone I could use?"

Aurora handed him her cellphone and said, "Before you call, let's get a few facts straight. My father's name is Steve Carlson. You are away in Florida right now, but a neighbor who stops to check the house every week just discovered the note on the front door and informed you about it."

"Okay. Is that all?"

"Yes…for now. If you need any more help, just let me know."

Optimus nodded, "Alright." And he dialed the number.

It rang a couple times before a man answered, "Hello?"

"Yes, this is Steve Carlson speaking, is this Daniel McHugh, chairman of the Village Board?" Optimus asked.

"Ah Steve, why yes it is and we've been waiting to hear from you."

"You're not really going to take a portion of my property are you?"

"Well, we have every reason to believe that our community as a whole would benefit from this limestone mine. You aren't the only person who would be losing property."

"And how much property do you plan on taking?"

"All of it now."

Optimus gawked, "All of it?! Do you know how much this home is worth, along with the property, there's no way I'm going to let you do this, you can build your mine somewhere else."

"Go Optimus," Aurora whispered.

"Mr. Carlson, I don't think you understand what I'm implying here. I said this limestone mine would stimulate economic growth within our community."

"So?"

"So that means we can take you property via eminent domain."

"What's that?"

"If there is reason to believe that a group of people would benefit from the taking of your property, than we can take it so long as the government says so."

"That's stealing."

"Regardless. Now shall we negotiate a price?"

"Look Mr. McHugh, I am not giving up my property without a fight. It's a lot more valuable than you think."

"I am sure that it is considering it is rich in limestone. Let's not take this to court Mr. Carlson, the lowest amount you'll get for that property is $250,000. That's enough to go find a nicer home with nicer property somewhere else."

"This property has sentimental value as well."

Daniel McHugh laughed, "Senti-Sentimental value? Oh Jesus, you crack me up!"

"You really are heartless. I am on vacation right now in Florida, the only reason why I found out about the note you left was because of a neighbor who is taking care of the home. How would you like it if someone said that they were going to take your property whether you liked it or not?"

"Well no one has. When do you return from your vacation in Florida?"

Optimus looked to Aurora who was listening to the conversation and she whispered, "Two weeks."

"In two weeks," Optimus replied.

"Well, call me when you get back then. That will give you time to let all the information…sink in." And the line clicked.

Optimus looked at the phone and saw the call had ended. He sighed heavily as he handed the phone back to Aurora and said, "That…was fruitless. I'm sorry Aurora."

"That guy is such an ass!" she growled as she shoved her cellphone back into her pocket.

"We're probably going to have to move the base Aurora."

"Yeah, but I sure don't want to move my house."

"What would your parents think of this?"

"They'd love it. They'd take the money willingly. They want a new house so bad and they've already picked out areas where they've wanted to build a house. They just haven't had the money…we can't let my parents find out about this."

"Understood. We'll fight this as much as we can."

"Thanks Optimus. I'm already trying to formulate some ideas."

He nodded, "I'll inform Megatron of what's going on. Maybe by some miracle he'll have a sensible idea other than killing Daniel McHugh."

Aurora laughed, "Any man who infringes upon my house and my property deserves to die."

"That's not nice Aurora."

"I don't care…I'm going to go to the hangout and chill out for a little bit. I'll see you later Optimus."

The Autobot leader nodded, "You too Aurora."

The girl left the Autobot leader's office and headed down a series of hallways towards the hangout. Along the way, she passed by the communications room and the door was open. She peeked inside and was suddenly awed by all the equipment and computers inside of the room. Glancing around, she saw that she was alone and she stepped inside of the room, the door hissing shut quietly behind her.

Being in as much love with machines as she was, she couldn't help but stretch her fingers out across the keyboards of some of the computers. Ever since Angelique had given her a complaint of there being no other mechs for her except for Megatron, Aurora had longed to send a message across Earth and deep into space to see if any more transformers suddenly existed now because of her wish.

The desire to do such a thing became too great and suddenly Aurora found herself pressing buttons and setting up communication links that would transmit her message across the galaxy. When it was ready, she grabbed the microphone and cleared her throat. No consequences entered her mind as she pressed the button that would allow her to record and transmit her message.

"To all Autobots and Decepticons," she spoke feeling suddenly empowered by her voice and what she was doing, "The war between the Autobots and Decepticons is over, Optimus Prime and Megatron have both agreed to an alliance and are currently on Earth, located in the town of Smiths Landing, New York, United States of America. I, Aurora, citizen of Earth and close ally to Optimus Prime and Megatron, send this message to any transformer out there who is willingly to come to Earth. Please disguise yourself from the humans; we will be looking for you. Aurora out." And she stopped the transmission.

Without a word, she left the communications room and continued to the hangout.

* * *

Megatron decided after Angelique finally fell asleep that he wasn't going to report to the throne room that day. There was no use; he figured the majority of his men weren't going to bother reporting anyway, regardless of the consequences. Quite frankly, he didn't feel like going to work in the throne room…all he really wanted to do was just recharge for a long time.

He laid in his recharge berth beside Angelique, watching as her chest slowly rose and fell as she breathed in a delicate and steady rhythm. It was quite relaxing to watch and hear her breath and he soon felt his own optics grow heavy as the need to recharge started to engulf him. Just as he was about to offline his optics though, he watched as Angelique slowly opened her eyes, her gaze meeting directly with his.

"Right when I was about to slip into a recharge," he mumbled tiredly.

"Sorry sir," she breathed, "How long have I been asleep?"

"A couple hours."

"I'm feeling better now…I'll leave so you can sleep."

"If you must."

"Well…do you want me to leave?"

"I don't care if you do or not. Make up your own mind human, I'm not your master."

"But…weeks ago you said that I belonged to you…and that I was yours."

He grinned slightly as he offlined his optics and said, "You do belong to me and you are mine, but I am not your master. I can't control you, I've tried. You're setting your own destiny, one that I cannot control."

"But you do want to control me and be my master."

"I crave it, but it's one more satisfaction that I'll never have."

"Megatron…"

"What human?"

"You aren't your normal self anymore. You're depressed."

"I don't want you to worry about me," he said with a little more brutality in his voice.

"Someone has to," she whispered as she moved closer to him in the recharge berth.

He rolled over so that his back was to her, "I don't appreciate your kindness."

"I'll…see you later," she remarked painfully as she dragged herself up from the recharge berth and left the quarters.

Megatron sighed heavily and hugged the blanket closer to him, _"But I do appreciate your company…"_

_

* * *

_

I think I ended that a little too soon, but I didn't have the energy to keep going. Until the next update! Please review.


	18. Canine Unit

Probably about time I got this updated huh? Well, thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing, I'll try to update quicker next time. And a warning, there are some suggestive themes towards the end of this. Enjoy now!

* * *

**Chapter 18: Canine Unit**

Aurora sighed heavily as she sat alone on steps to the back porch of her home, watching the sunset. It wasn't really fair how a place she had gotten to know for the last seventeen, almost eighteen years was being ripped away from her so easily. And it seemed like time was going by, ticking away without a care or any sort of regard as to how she felt. She was at the dawn of her life too, but to see the sun set on her home, the only home that she had ever come to know, it was almost like someone was ripping the heart out of her chest.

And the fact that she couldn't do anything about it was eating away at her as well. No matter how much she cared about her home and the welfare of it, there was always some other higher power that could destroy everything. Aurora hated the world sometimes. She felt so worthless, so small, so inconsiderate. If she had money the village would be leaving the family alone. But no, here she was cursing the world and the evil men that had been produced.

There was nothing she could do.

She had no choice but to sit by and idly wait for the destruction of her home and the destruction of the transformers base. They couldn't build it anywhere nearby…the location in the gully had been absolutely perfect. It was on their property. They were using the land wisely, but Aurora guessed that someone else didn't quite think so.

Never really had she cared for the opinions of others. She didn't let other people's opinions dictate her own life. So why should she let the opinion of one town, of one village get her all upset? Not everyone had to be for the creation of the limestone mine. She just had to start a public opposition. She just had to do some research and find out the details of this mine…then she could destroy it before it ever got started. And that was exactly what she was going to do.

She got up from the porch and headed towards the gully and the transformers base where she could use a computer. She would win this for the sake of her home and for the sake of the transformers…because she didn't want them to lose their home either.

Aurora stepped inside the base just as the sun disappeared below the horizon.

* * *

There was a computer in her room, a nice laptop with a very fast and very secure internet connection. She logged on immediately and went to Google where she typed into the search engine: Smiths Landing Limestone Mine and pressed enter. She was surprised when the first thing that came up was an article from a local news website. Feeling it was promising, she clicked on it and was taken to the article, which she read and then grinned. It had everything she needed.

Quickly she jotted down the facts about the mine that would get people angry about it and motivated to get rid of it. And once she had all the information she wanted written down, she tapped her pen against her cheek, trying to decide what she wanted to do. Somehow she had to make the town aware of the mine because as she scrolled down and looked at the article, nobody had left any comments on it. Aurora glanced down at the paper she had written the facts about the mine on when suddenly an idea came to her. She could hang fliers and signs throughout town describing the ill-effects of the mine. People would notice as they walked throughout town and spread the word. She could put them up on bulletin boards inside of stores too and where people went to hang out.

Inspired, she immediately opened Microsoft Word and began making the fliers. She made them eye catching and fancy…and when she was finished, she proceeded to print off five hundred copies. And she wanted to get them hung up around town that night…but she knew it would be a nearly impossible task doing it by herself…

* * *

Angelique nearly jumped out of her skin when Aurora suddenly burst into her room, a pile of papers in her hand. She was sitting on her bed, still nursing a dying hangover. "Can I help you?" she asked in a bit of a bitter tone.

"Yeah I made these fliers about the mine—

"Let me see," her sister said, cutting her off midsentence.

Aurora handed Angelique the fliers she had made and the younger sibling began to read them. Her eyes darted towards the stack of fliers Aurora had in her hand when she finished reading, "There's a typo."

"Are you serious?"

"No," Angelique remarked with a grin, "What do you plan on doing with these?"

"Hanging them up around town so people are aware of the effects of putting in a mine."

"Why don't you just stand in Presbyterian Park with a podium and say, 'Attention people of Smiths Landing, a site close to the hospital has been chosen to build a limestone mine. What does this mean for you? Increased dust which will make the air quality even worse! Blasting several times a year that will simulate minor earthquakes! And don't forget heavier traffic with trucks coming to the limestone mine and then leaving to haul the stone away!"

"Yeah right, just where I am going to get a podium? Come on, we'll start with this."

"We'll?"

"Well…I came here to ask you if you would help me hang these up around town."

"You mean…right now?"

"Yes, the sooner we get them out the sooner people can see them and we can get the house saved."

"But…" she glanced at the clock, "It's almost nine o'clock…I know that it's summer and it's still light out, but still by the time we get home it'll be dark."

"So? We'll bring flashlights."

"I still don't feel good."

"Suck it up. What do you care about more, feeling better or saving our property? Because if we don't do this, we'll lose our house, the transformers, and our land…so what's your choice?"

"I hate how you always put things like that."

Aurora smiled, "Come on, let's go and get back before anybody notices we're gone."

Angelique sighed, grabbed a light jacket, slipped on her shoes and followed Aurora out of the room. They went up to the house where they armed themselves with tape and staplers and then head down into town, Angelique on one side of the street with half of the fliers, Aurora on the other. They easily hung fliers on telephone poles and stopped at a couple stores where they taped them on bulletin boards. Eventually, after walking all over town, they managed to get all the fliers hung up so they were left with almost empty staplers and empty tape rolls.

They were on the other side of town and were headed back home, but along the way Angelique tapped Aurora's elbow and murmured, "Don't look now, but we've got company."

Aurora glanced behind only to see a police car slowly creeping along behind them as if deciding whether or not to flip on the lights and figure out what they were doing. Aurora swallowed hard and did her best not to increase her pace as she whispered back, "Does Smiths Landing have a curfew?"

"Not that I'm aware of. There's a gas station up here that's opened 24/7, you want to stop in there and hope our law enforcement friend doesn't follow us?"

"I don't know, knowing our luck, that guy could be Barricade. Look and see if you can see a driver."

"It's nighttime and the windows are tinted, I don't think so."

"Then let's keep walking, but try not to look suspicious."

"I hate cops."

"Quiet, he might hear you."

Angelique sighed, "Maybe he's not following us. Let's take this street up here and see if he turns and follows us."

"Alright."

They walked onto another street that would take them a different way through town and would take them longer to get back to the base. Both of the girls felt fear begin to surge through them when the police car turned onto the street as well. Aurora and Angelique exchanged looks before the elder sister swallowed, "Why is he following us? Hanging up those fliers wasn't wrong."

"Well, we're about to find out," Angelique remarked as she stopped walking and waved the police car down.

The police car flipped on its lights and pulled up to curb. He rolled down the window on the passenger side and Angelique glanced in. "Is there a problem officer?" she asked.

The officer looked at her and said, "No. It's late; would you like a ride home?"

"No, it's alright," Angelique said, "Thanks though."

Aurora looked at her and they got back on the main road and started walking home and the police officer didn't follow them. Once they were halfway through town, Aurora finally said, "That was really weird…with the police officer."

"Well you know, he was just making sure we weren't up to anything."

"At least it wasn't Barricade."

Angelique chuckled, "Yeah that might have been a bigger problem."

They kept walking forward and then went onto a side street that would lead them out of town and towards their home. They soon had to turn on their flashlights since the streetlights ended. "Something doesn't feel right," Angelique finally admitted as they continued walking in the eerily quiet darkness towards the base.

"Now what?" Aurora asked as she glanced over towards her sister.

"I don't know…"

The older sister shook her head and glanced behind only to nearly jump out of her skin when she saw five pairs of eyes suddenly appear in the darkness, "Angelique, start walking a little faster."

"Oh God…why?"

"I think there are coyotes behind us."

"Oh shit…I'm sorry asked. Aurora…we're going to die."

"Do you have your cellphone on you?"

"Yes…and a stapler."

"That's not going to help us. Do you think there is any way we could somehow wire your phone so that we could call Optimus via his comlink?"

"I don't know, you're the technologic one, not me."

"Um…I know they have a frequency, which is a set a numbers."

"Do you know his frequency?"

"He gave it to me in case of an emergency…hold on I got it written down somewhere," she said as she quickly fumbled through her pockets.

Angelique yelped when one of the coyotes suddenly growled and then another let out a loud howl. "Aurora hurry! I think they're planning to eat us soon."

"It's 6784687!"

Angelique quickly typed the numbers into her phone and pressed call. She put her phone on speakerphone and handed it to Aurora.

"Optimus here."

"Oh it worked."

"Aurora? Is something wrong?"

"Yes, Angelique and I went for a walk and now we got a pack of hungry coyotes—

"A-Aurora…those aren't…those aren't…"

Aurora turned only to see Angelique had stopped walking and had her flashlight trained behind her. Five robotic dogs were standing there, growling and bearing their teeth. It was all Aurora could do to keep from dropping the phone.

"Oh my God," she breathed, "Optimus…we need you out here right now."

"Where are you?" he demanded.

"Down the road from our house, we've got flashlights; you should be able to see us."

"Alright, stay on the com I'm on my way."

"Thanks Optimus."

"Anything for you Aurora."

Angelique swallowed hard and managed to say, "They look like a Michael Bay version of Ravage…except creepier."

The girls watched as the dogs slowly surrounded them, growling and barking. They were about the size of regular coyotes, but the fact that they were metal and indestructible made them a lot more fearsome.

Red and blue flashing lights came out of the distance suddenly and a police car appeared on the road, quickly approaching them. "Oh great," Aurora stated, "Just what we need right now."

"Hey, I'll take any kind of help I can get right now," Angelique remarked, "Hey officer—

"Angelique shut up! Don't you at all think it's ironic that this cop showed up with his lights flashing and siren blaring right when we needed him?"

"It's a sign from God that we're not supposed to die yet!"

Aurora rolled her eyes, "Barricade, what do you want?"

The police car chuckled, "You're a clever one. And since you addressed the other one as Angelique, I presume your name is Aurora?"

She swallowed hard, "Yes…"

"What the heck?" Angelique asked confused, "When did you two meet? And Barricade, you can call off your dogs."

"Silence gynoid."

"Don't tell me to be quiet! I'll just have you know I'm a Decepticon too! Megatron gave me your insignia."

"Prove it."

Angelique pulled her shirt down enough so that he could see the insignia. "I see," Barricade remarked, "What is your relation to him?"

"I am his therapist and future wife."

"Oh brother Angelique, don't get yourself into a mess you can't get out of," Aurora warned, "Barricade, I'll have you know that Optimus is on his way."

"Well then, perhaps I should get going. Gynoid, come with me."

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea."

"And why not?"

"Because…Megatron is expecting me back at the base."

"Well…I guess he won't miss you that much then. Have fun boys!" he said as he drove away.

"But, we're girls," Angelique stated.

"He was talking to the dogs!" Aurora shouted as the dogs began to close in on them.

"Oh crap," the younger sibling remarked as she moved closer to Aurora, "Got any ideas?"

"Optimus how far away are you?!" she yelled into the phone.

"Right here," he replied as he dropped down from the darkness next to them and fired his gun at one of the dogs, prompting the others to attack.

Aurora shrieked when one of the canines landed on her, knocking her to the ground. It went to sink its teeth into her neck, but she put her arms up and the robotic beast got a mouthful of arm. Aurora grimaced as she felt the metal teeth puncture through her skin into muscle and her nerves began to scream at her that her arm was in danger. "Optimus!" she cried.

The dog was suddenly blasted off of her and she quickly got up only to notice that Optimus had successfully destroyed all of the dogs. Aurora then looked down at her arm to see how bad it was and she suddenly felt queasy. Blood was slowly dripping from the wound and she could see the puncture wounds were deep. She carefully made a fist only to see that despite the pain, she hadn't lost mobility of her arm.

"Come on," Optimus said with one of the dead canines slung over his shoulder, "Let's get you to Red Alert before you lose too much blood."

She nodded and then asked, "Where's Angelique?"

"Right here," Angelique exclaimed as she came up beside her sister, "And happily uninjured."

"So who is this Barricade?" Optimus inquired as they headed for the base.

"Remember the movie we watched last night?" Aurora responded.

"Oh, the police-bot."

"Yes…he just appeared and I think he's responsible for those dog things."

"Hey guys, I think I'm going to go on ahead of you and let Megatron know about this…" Angelique stated.

"Do you think he'll care?" Aurora wondered.

She shrugged, "I'll make him. See you guys later." And she ran off ahead of them.

Aurora sighed, "She's feeling a lot better considering she had quite the hangover earlier today."

"Well, let's not worry about her. Right now we got to get your arm repaired and see if Red Alert can do anything to identify what these companions of Barricade's are," Optimus suggested.

"Okay," she answered and they continued into the base.

* * *

Red Alert was surprised when he looked over to see his leader and Aurora walk into the med bay. He slowly stood when he saw that Aurora was clutching her right arm tightly and Optimus setting a dog-like mechanical creature onto an operating table.

"Do I dare ask?" the Autobot medic asked as he went to inspect Aurora's arm.

"Uh…Angelique and I came across Barricade," Aurora explained.

"Barricade?"

Optimus answered, "He was the police-bot in the movie the girls showed us last night. Aurora and Angelique were out going for a walk when they stumbled upon him and those canine-like friends of his. One of them bit Aurora."

"Well, I'll treat her and then try to figure out what that is," Red Alert stated as he directed Aurora to an examination table.

He proceeded to stop the bleeding and did a couple scans to make sure there wasn't any infection forming and that there hadn't been anything on the dog's teeth. He then stitched the puncture wounds up and put her arm in a sling. The medic then advised her not to do anything too strenuous with her arm for a couple weeks so that she wouldn't risk reopening the wounds. After, he told her that she had a clean bill of health and she was free to leave whenever she pleased.

Optimus then escorted Aurora out of the med bay, but as soon as they were out of sight, he stopped and nearly crushed her in a hug. "You had me so worried," he breathed.

"I'm sorry," she whispered back, wrapping her good arm around him, "I thought we were safe."

"We'll all have to be a little more careful now. Trust me; it was not easy to see that animal on top of you biting you…"

"You were really calm about it."

"Not when I shot it off of you."

"That's true."

"You got lucky, he could have killed you."

"Well, that's why I've got you around."

Optimus smiled and kissed the top of her head, "Come on, let's get some sleep, it's been a long day."

"I agree."

Optimus proceeded to lead her to his quarters where he helped her into his recharge berth beside him and turned out the light. "I love you Aurora," he breathed.

"I love you too Optimus."

"I don't ever want to lose you."

"You won't, I promise."

He pulled her tightly against him needing to feel the reassurance of her warmth, of her breathing. He sighed as he heard her heartbeat…the heart that was beating for him. Optimus smiled as he fell into a deep recharge.

* * *

Megatron groaned when he heard a knock on his door. He was sitting in the living area of his quarters on the couch trying to figure out what was so interesting about human television. Not impressed by the people he saw on the screen, he decided to see if the person behind the door would prove to be any sort of entertainment. "Who is it?" he asked as he kept channel surfing.

"Me," Angelique answered.

The Decepticon leader grinned recognizing her voice, but decided to toy with her a bit. "And who is me?" he inquired.

"Your biggest fan and loyal servant come to inform you of the latest pressing issue."

"Besides that stupid limestone mine?"

"Yes."

"Alright what is it?"

"Well…can I come in?"

"I suppose."

Angelique opened the door and came in to see Megatron sitting on the couch attempting to watch television. "Wow," she remarked as she sat down in a chair near the couch, "I didn't know you watched TV."

"It's amazing what you do when you're bored. Now…" he said as he turned the television off and gave her his undivided attention, "Just what's so important that you have to tell me?"

"Okay earlier I went for a walk with Aurora through town and on the way back, we were attacked by Barricade and his dogs."

"Who's Barricade?"

"A Decepticon…super loyal to you, he was the police car in the movie we watched last night."

"And his dogs?"

"I'm…not really sure about those. Anyways, Optimus came and rescued us before the dogs ate us for dinner, but Barricade wanted me to come with him, but I didn't obviously…I think he's looking for you."

"Well, when you find him bring him to me. Another Decepticon in my ranks isn't a bad thing."

"When I find him?"

"I'm not looking for him…and besides, I can tell you're feeling better."

Angelique sighed heavily, "If he kills me I blame you. And I have a bolt to pick with him anyway. One of his canines bit my sister."

"Boo hoo."

"Well, I guess I'll be going then."

"No stay, you don't have to make a hasty retreat all the time."

"I only learn from the best."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Angelique swallowed, "Uh…nothing. Want me to show you some good channels?"

"I guess," he replied as Angelique sat down on the couch beside him.

She showed him Discovery, he wasn't interested. The same went for History, Spike, Animal Planet, TruTV, TLC, ABC Family, HBO, and just about every other channel she showed him. Finally she gave up and turned off the television sighing, "There's just nothing good on tonight."

He glanced at her, "You're just a boring human."

"I'm not boring."

"Yes you are."

"You don't really know me then."

"I got the general idea."

"Look, just because you're bored doesn't mean you got to start degrading me. If you do, then I'm leaving."

"No need to get sensitive," he remarked as he got up from the couch and headed to his office.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she followed him.

"Work…it's not like I have anything else to do."

She beat him to the doorway of his office and stood there facing him. "You and I could do something," she suggested as she traced small, invisible circles on his chest.

"I'm not interested."

"You're no fun."

"You're in my way."

She crossed her arms and stepped aside so that he could walk by. He did and Angelique walked back into the living area. After about half an hour and two reports later, Megatron heard something ripping and the sound was coming from the living area. He peeked out the door only to see Angelique sitting on the couch watching television and a message scrawled out in masking tape on the back of his couch. It said, "I still love you anyways."

Oh sometimes he really hated it when she made him smile. He sighed heavily as he stepped back inside his office, scrawled out a message on a piece of paper, made it into an airplane, and threw it to her. It landed beside her on the couch and she noticed it and looked back towards his office, but he was out of sight.

Sighing heavily, she picked it up and slowly opened it. At first she didn't read it, she closed her eyes and prepared herself for the worst message in the world. Finally, she opened her eyes and read, "I still like you too…make sure you get that tape off the back of my couch before you leave too."

She shook her head, wrote a message back on the paper, and tossed it into his office. Megatron saw the paper come flying in and he picked it up off the floor, opened it up and read, "Nope, because of lot of times you need reminding. And who said I'm leaving?"

Megatron smirked and wrote back a message before he went to the doorway and tossed it. Angelique picked it up the moment it landed next to her and quickly opened it to read, "And who said you could stay?"

She tapped the pen against her cheek thinking before she wrote out her message and then got up from the couch. Without getting permission, she walked into his office and Megatron looked at her warily. "I don't trust that look you've got on your face," he said.

"That's good," she stated as she quickly swiped one of his reports off his desk and darted out of the room with it.

"Hey!" he shouted as he got up to go after her, "Give that back!"

"You got to catch me first!"

But that didn't take him long either. She had just gotten into his quarters when he tackled her and pinned her to the ground. "Now," he said, "My report?"

She handed it to him, but he was surprised when she also handed him the airplane. Curious, Megatron set his report aside and opened the plane, only to read the message, "This is the part where you kiss me." He looked back down at her not amused.

She sighed reading his expression, "You can't blame a girl for trying."

"How come no matter how many times I tell you I don't like you like that you never listen?"

"Because I'm not convinced. You keep egging me on to believe that…somehow…it'll work."

"You're pathetic."

"I don't think so."

"Well then, this is the last time I tell you. I am not interested."

"Fine…I'll leave, get off me."

"You know," he said as he leaned forward, "Earlier I did say it's amazing what we do when we're bored, correct?"

"Yes…"

"And I believe the last time we did this I was a little rude."

"Wait…what?"

"Silence," he breathed as he leaned forward and closed the distance between them.

Megatron could tell from the moment his lips found Angelique's that she was hungry for this. He quickly worked to satisfy her, exchanging his tongue for hers and his cold lips for her soft, warm, delicate ones. And he wasn't sure why he was doing this, he was suddenly dizzy, but he wanted something. What something though he wasn't sure. Something to drive Angelique away permanently…maybe, he didn't know for sure.

He ended the kiss since he was getting uncomfortable and heard Angelique breathe, "It's when you do things like that."

"We're not done yet," he heard himself say as he stood and helped her to her feet. He didn't give her a chance to question him as he commanded the lights to go out and led her over to his recharge berth.

She laid down and he laid down next to her. He didn't hesitate as he resumed the kiss and pulled her tightly against him. Angelique heard some of his systems click and hiss and she couldn't help but ask, "Are you—

"Yes," he answered softly and quickly captured her lips with his own before she had the chance to say anything else. His hands then wandered down to her pant line and he traced a finger along the zipper of her fly.

"Megatron I've never—

"Do you want to? This is probably the only opportunity you'll ever get."

"I uh…" She felt him unzip her fly and reach back up for the button, "I…" She felt him undo the button and she squeezed her eyes shut as she rolled over so her back was to him, "Not unless you really love me."

He smiled, surprised and relieved at the same time. No he didn't want to have sex with her…he guessed he had only done that to see what would have happened, and he was happy with the result. Angelique had her morals and he wasn't going to rob her of them. She didn't cave under his pressuring, like most femmes he had been with had. Of course, none of them had been virgins either. He'd keep his optic on her maybe a little longer.

"Alright," he said softly, "Let's go to sleep, I'm tired."

"You mean," she remarked as she rolled back over, her pants fixed, "You're not mad?"

"No…I was merely testing you to see if you would or not."

"Sure…" she replied as she yawned, "Don't rape me during the middle of the night please."

"I won't. And maybe we can try this again some other time."

"Only if you love me."

"Or not."

Megatron's optics widened as she snuggled against him and almost immediately fell asleep. He sighed heavily. She was right; he couldn't keep egging her on. Tired, he offlined his optics and fell into a deep recharge hoping that tomorrow he could convince Angelique to just leave him alone...even if it seemed no matter how hard he tried to get her away, the closer they were brought together.

* * *

Whoo hoo, nothing like sexual tension! Well, I'm just happy I got this updated. Please review!


	19. Seal the Deal

It's about time I got to uploading this. I apologize for the wait. But thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing, I love you guys. I'll let you enjoy this chapter now.

* * *

**Chapter 19: Seal the Deal**

Angelique felt something move in the recharge berth and alarmed, she opened her eyes. She glanced around only to see that Megatron was rolling over, but he was still deep in recharge. She only knew that because he had rolled over to face her. Sighing heavily, she decided that she mine as well stay up because she felt rested enough and it was nearly 8:00am. Quietly and carefully she got up from the recharge berth trying very hard not to wake up the Decepticon leader. Once successfully out of the berth, she tiptoed over to the door where she silently left the room.

The female was headed for her quarters so that she could shower and change her clothes. It didn't take her long to get there, and once she did, she immediately grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom. After locking herself inside, she stripped from her clothes and turned to the shower where she turned on the water. Once it was warm, she got inside and closed the curtain.

Angelique sighed heavily in satisfaction as she felt the warm water cascade over her and wipe her body clean of any impurities that it had. As she gently massaged some shampoo into her hair, she couldn't help but feel she had left her heart behind with Megatron. It was like she was almost empty inside without him. She pursed her lips to the side as she let the water rinse the shampoo out of her hair.

"_I shouldn't think about him this much,"_ she thought as she reached for the conditioner and was soon massaging that into her hair, _"I wonder what would happen if I just completely stopped seeing him…he'd probably forget about me. Maybe that's why I keep going back to him…er…whatever. All I know is that I cannot have another night like last night with him."_

When the shower was finished, Angelique stepped out and looked in the mirror at her frizzy hair. She frowned at it, but decided she would deal with that in a minute. She had just wrapped a towel around herself when suddenly there was a knock at her _bathroom_ door, startling her. Not knowing who else would have the courage to barge into her quarters and knock on her bathroom door besides her sister, Angelique concluded that it was her and went to the door where she opened it.

"Why, good morning beautiful!"

She felt a blush burn onto her face as she groaned, "Wing-Saber…I should've guessed it was you. What do you want?"

"Besides to help you out of that towel…I just came here to check up on you. I didn't see you at all yesterday—

"We'll talk about that in a minute. Give me a second to get dressed okay?"

"Alright, but don't take too long."

"I'll try not to keep you waiting," she exclaimed as she quickly shut the door and locked it. Angelique then quickly threw aside the towel and put on her clothes. When they were on, she went over to the mirror where she brushed her hair and made it look the best that she could considering it was still wet. She then left the bathroom and stepped into her quarters where Wing-Saber was over at her desk, looking at some of her photos.

He looked over to her when she came out and he grinned, "It's about time."

She shrugged, "You can't rush a lady when she's attending to her hygiene."

"I suppose not. Now, how are you doing? You got kind of wasted the other night…" and he smirked.

"Thanks to you."

"In my defense, I told you I was getting you a drink."

"Look, I don't know what happened because I don't remember. I am pretty sure that you didn't force me to drink anything that I didn't want to."

"Precisely."

"But you tricked me. Telling me that you're just going to get me a drink is very vague."

"It was an after party. High-grade was like the only stuff they had."

"How many did I drink?"

"I didn't keep count, but several…which is way too many for someone who hasn't had high-grade before."

"So why did you let me have that many?"

He frowned, "You're just going to tear me down aren't you?"

"Yes. Megatron told me what you did to me."

"What in the pit does Megatron know? He wasn't even there until he came to get you."

"He still asked me what happened before I passed out. And with the hangover I had yesterday…what he told me was pretty convincing."

"So he told you everything?" Wing-Saber asked skeptically.

"Yup, he didn't like the Autobot insignia either."

Wing-Saber pursed his lips to the side and Angelique could see the defeated look on his face. He sighed, "Look, I'm sorry. I just hate feeling like I'm in competition with him to get to you."

"Wing-Saber, are we even really dating? I'll tell the truth, I went to the movie with Megatron, but I stayed hidden. I was under the blanket next to him on the couch. I know you were there with Lynk. I think it would be easier now if we just called it off."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…where is this coming from? You've just gotten too much of Megatron's influence in you."

"That's why it's not going to work. I mean, how many times have we tried? I don't love you as anymore than a friend Wing-Saber."

He crossed his arms, "So this is the thanks I get?"

"Look, I don't care what you say to everyone else. You can go ahead and tell them you ended it, you can say I cheated or whatever you want about me. I don't care if you smear my reputation or not, I want what is best for us. This relationship isn't good Wing-Saber. Lynk likes you, a lot more than what I ever could. I'm not going to hurt you anymore, if I was hurting you," she stated and she turned for the door, "Now if you excuse me, I have things to do."

But Wing-Saber followed her out the door. He grabbed a hold of her shoulder and stopped her and turned her to face him, "Hold on a second, can't we talk about this?"

"Wing-Saber we tried to talk about this but nothing has happened."

"Hold on, tell me everything Megatron told you. I can guarantee you it was all a lie."

"Except for the Autobot insignia you drew on my chest."

"Well will you at least hear me out?"

She sighed and finally said, "Alright."

* * *

The moment Aurora opened her eyes; she quickly got out of the recharge berth and headed to the living area where there was a television. In her abrupt movements, she accidentally woke up Optimus who had been recharging soundly. He looked over at Aurora who was about to leave the quarters and asked tiredly, "Where are you going?"

"I want to check the news. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Optimus sighed and watched as she disappeared into the living area. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed the remaining recharge from his optics. He wasn't sure why Aurora was so eager to watch the news and he knew he had never seen her get up so quickly, but regardless, he got up from the recharge berth and followed her out into the living area.

When he got out there, Aurora was sitting on the couch in front of the television. She had the TV on and tuned to a news station. Grinning, he walked up behind her and planted a kiss on her cheek. He felt her face stretch into a smile and she tilted her head back to look at him. "You didn't have to get up," she said.

"Well, it's about time I got up anyway, and I want to know what it is on the news that you want to see," he remarked as he gently kissed her lips.

"I want to see what they have to say about the limestone mine," she answered.

No sooner had she gotten those words out of her mouth than the news reporter spoke, "This morning in Smiths Landing, many residents awoke to find complaints about the limestone mine that has been slotted to be built in the area. Fliers were posted across the entire town on telephone poles and in store windows. While it is not against the law to protest in such a manner, many individuals would still like to know who did it. The fliers warn of the side effects of the mine, such as dust, blasting, and heavier traffic. Many people who live in the area have taken opposition to the mine and are prompting town officials to reconsider putting the mine into place."

"Yes!" Aurora remarked with a slight chuckle, "My idea is working!"

"Your idea?" Optimus asked, "What do you mean?"

"Last night I convinced Angelique to go around town with me and hang up those fliers."

"That explains why you were outside. I wonder if Red Alert figured out what those canines were."

Aurora shrugged, "We could go find out."

"Alright," he said, "Let's go."

"You want me to go with you?"

Optimus smiled, "Of course. Red Alert can check your arm to make sure it's okay."

She smirked, "I suppose." And she got up from the couch and headed towards the door where Optimus was waiting.

He grinned before taking her in his arms and pulling her against him, "And then after we see Red Alert, what do you say we go do something else?"

"Something else?" she asked a bit surprised, "Like what?"

"That's a surprise."

"More like you haven't thought of it yet."

"That too."

Aurora smiled and shook her head, "You know Optimus, the last time I went out in public with you, we had to ditch the cops."

"We don't have to go to town."

"What else can we do then, I mean, there's not much we can do without you getting caught for not being well, a human."

"Leave that to me," he said, kissing her hand, "Now let's go, I'm sure my medic is dying for us to annoy him."

Aurora slid her hand into his and remarked with a sly smile, "If not, oh well."

Together, they left his quarters and headed to the med bay, which didn't take very long. Once they were there, they went inside and found Red Alert sitting at a computer going over some data. The Autobot medic noticed them and said, "You two are here early."

"We were just wondering if you found out anything about that thing that attacked me last night," Aurora remarked, "And Optimus wants you to check my arm."

Red Alert glanced at Aurora and then looked to his leader and said, "Well Optimus, I think this is a discussion we should have…alone."

A slight look of alarm went across both Optimus' and Aurora's faces. Optimus looked to Aurora who simply said, "I'll wait outside the med bay." And she left.

Optimus then looked to Red Alert and asked, "Well, what's going on?"

"Well sir, to begin with, those canines are simply drones modeled after the Decepticon Ravage. But even though you killed a few last night, I have a feeling someone is mass producing them since they are very simple to make. They are very destructive, but easily defeated."

"So it's not safe for Aurora or Angelique to venture outside of the base?"

Red Alert shook his head, "For the time being I would say no. And since you mentioned Barricade last night I would assume he is the one doing so. I'm not sure what he's up to, but my guess is that he's looking for Megatron and that he disagrees with our alliance."

"Him being alive proves that we weren't the only transformers that came to life."

Red Alert nodded, "And my guess is that we're all over the globe."

"So our existence is going to probably be revealed one day, one way or another."

"If it hasn't been already."

"I haven't heard any news reports from the humans."

"That's true, but with this limestone mine coming, that may not last long."

Optimus sighed heavily, "Well, I guess we have no choice but to deal with this as it comes. Let's just keep this between you and me right now."

Red Alert nodded, "As you wish sir. Would you still like me to look at Aurora's arm?"

"You're a good medic, she'll be alright, I'll see you later," Optimus said as he headed towards the door. And he left the med bay.

When Aurora saw Optimus come out, she looked up at him a bit surprised. He sighed and wrapped an arm around her and started leading her away from the med bay. "Wait a minute," she said, "What about my arm?"

"It isn't bothering you is it?"

"No…"

"Then we'll have Red Alert look at it later."

"What's wrong?"

He looked to her and sighed heavily, "I don't want you going outside the base without me for a little while. Things are getting risky and I don't want anything to happen to you."

"What's going on?"

Optimus sighed, "Red Alert figured out that those dogs were drones modeled after Ravage. He thinks there are a lot more, and I don't want you going outside without me because of that."

Aurora had a feeling that he wasn't telling her everything, but she wouldn't ask anything further. Instead she leaned against him and whispered, "Everything is going to be okay Optimus."

"I hope so Aurora, I really hope so."

* * *

Angelique hesitantly told Wing-Saber what Megatron had told her and wasn't surprised when he said it wasn't true and proceeded to give his own account of the evening. When he was finished, Angelique sighed and asked, "Now, if I were to ask someone else what happened, would they agree with you?"

He pursed his lips to the side momentarily before saying, "Well…"

She rolled her eyes and stated, "This is why we're not going to work out. I want you to give someone else a chance okay?"

"Just what is it that Megatron has that I don't?"

"He's the bad guy with an extreme aura of sexiness," Angelique confessed with a smile, "Now if you excuse me—

"I think you're making a mistake," he said quickly, to keep her from leaving.

She glanced at him and turned away anyways and started walking away. "Hold on!" he exclaimed, "You can't walk away from me like this!"

Angelique glanced back at him, "You'll get over it." And she watched as he started following her. That was all it took to make her start running.

* * *

Red Alert groaned when Angelique suddenly ran into the med bay and remarked out of breath, "Don't let him find me."

"Who, Megatron?" the medic asked, turning back to his work.

"No, Wing-Saber," she said.

Red Alert sighed, "Now what's going on between you two?"

"Well, I tried to tell him it was over between us, but he wasn't taking too kindly to it."

And the medic laughed, "You may be the first person to ever break up with him, that's why."

"Yay me," the girl stated and she glanced over to a recharge berth that had the canine on it. "Hey, when did you fix that up?" she asked as she walked over to it.

"Don't touch that!" Red Alert exclaimed, but it was too late.

Angelique had already poked it and immediately its twin red optics flared online and the creature jumped up and jumped on Angelique, knocking her to the floor. "Don't let it eat me!" she shrieked and then burst out laughing when it started licking her face, "Stop…stop it!"

Red Alert shook his head, "It wasn't dead like Optimus thought. So I repaired it so I could study it and changed its programming."

Angelique sat up and the canine sat beside her, wagging it's deadly tail. She pet it as she asked, "Did you figure out what it was?"

"A drone modeled after Ravage."

"But Ravage was a cat."

"I said modeled after, not identical to."

"Well, what'd you name it?"

"Name it? It doesn't need a name."

"Yes it does! I'll call him…Bit."

"What kind of name is that?"

"Well, he did bite my sister."

"I highly advice you choose a different name."

"What's wrong with Bit?"

The dog barked suddenly and wagged his tail harder, causing Angelique to smile, "You see Red, he likes the name Bit, so his name shall stay as Bit."

"Why don't you just call him Ravage?"

"Because Ravage is a cat's name!"

"Then call him Savage…"

Angelique pursed her lips to the side, "Okay, his name will be Savage-Bit. But I'm still calling him Bit."

"That's a bit savage don't you think?" Red Alert asked with a smirk.

"You're not funny!" Angelique remarked, "Come on _Bit_, we're leaving." And she left the med bay, Bit following her as she did so.

* * *

"Maybe we should warn Angelique about the danger of going outside the base alone," Optimus suggested, "But assign her a new body guard."

Aurora laughed, "Yeah that whole Wing-Saber thing sure didn't work out. Would any of your men want to do it?"

"Doubt it. Everyone thinks she's a Decepticon."

"But you guys have the alliance. Come on, how harmful is Angelique?"

"Just because we have an alliance doesn't mean any of us have so easily forgotten how much pain we've caused each other. The Decepticons are still mad at us for things and we're still mad at the Decepticons for other things. Eventually things will smooth out…but it's still going to be awhile."

"Just as long as the war doesn't break out again."

"As long as Megatron is entertained and distracted, it shouldn't since if the alliance is going to break, he'll probably be the reason why it did."

"I can't help but agree with that."

"That's why you need to convince Angelique to stay around him."

"What? But he hurts her and the things he probably says to her aren't good for her mental health."

"She'll be alright I do believe, but she is the one who is doing the best job at keeping Megatron both entertained and distracted."

"But…she isn't going to be around forever…she's eventually going to graduate high school and leave to go to college."

"The keyword being eventually."

"And what is she supposed to do? What if he gets sick of her?"

"I don't think he will and to keep doing whatever she's doing now. Do you know if they're romantically involved?"

Aurora blushed but sighed and said, "I know they have done some things, nothing really bad, but they don't recognize each other as anything more than just a friend."

"It would be nice if they ended up as mates."

Aurora laughed, "Optimus you can't be serious. Megatron is never going to pick a mate."

"And why not?"

"Because," she added in a more serious tone, "He's the leader of the Decepticons, he doesn't know how to love, he wasn't programmed to know how."

"That's a common misconception. Every transformer was programmed with the knowledge of love and instinctively knows how to love. Megatron isn't any exception."

"Then why hasn't he picked a mate before now?"

"Because he didn't want to have any weaknesses. Trust me; he didn't stop his own warriors from choosing mates."

Aurora pursed her lips to the side, "I'm sure you came across a lot of nice females before you came across me."

"What are you insinuating? None of them were like you Aurora."

She smiled, "Well, let's go find Angelique a new body guard or escort or whatever you want to call it."

"And I am thinking Starscream."

"Starscream?! Why _him_?"

"One, to see if Megatron gets jealous. Two, in hopes that Angelique will get him out of the base," Optimus admitted, "But before you ask me why again, Starscream needs to be kept from giving Megatron ideas of rebellion. I am hoping that Angelique makes him go with her into town that way he might come across a human of his interest."

"You could just have Red Alert build another femme, this time to Starscream's liking."

"No offense but that's like building them a toy designed for love purposes."

"How would you get him to do it though?"

"Well, since I am not in command of Starscream, I would have to ask Megatron."

"Eh…later," Aurora remarked as Optimus' quarters came into sight, "I say we go have an intense make out session on your bed right now."

Optimus slyly smiled as they reached the door, "After you my dear."

The door opened and she stepped inside, but turned to face him in the doorway, "Oh, I was also wondering if you could take me up to Wal-Mart later…I kind of used up all my printer paper, tape, and staples last night."

He only smirked as he took her in his arms and guided her into the room, the door closing behind them.

* * *

"Who is this," came a gruff, muffled voice at the other end of the line, "And how the hell did you get this number?"

"Just call me Boss for now," the village board chairman answered confidently, "And I have connections."

"…Well, what do you want?"

"Is this the leader of the Faceless Assassins?"

"Maybe."

"Because if it is, I have a job for you and your gang. It doesn't involve murder or killing anyone…yet. But it does involve a large amount of money."

"Keep talking."

"I won't give out my name for security reasons, but just so you know I am an important man that has control of an elite police force and I can manipulate them as I please. Currently I am trying to get a mine to be built in my town so that the town, as well as myself, can get more money, but there is a lot of opposition. I would like you and your members to come here and…patrol a house for me where I believe the opposition is originating from."

"Why don't you use your own cops?"

"I don't want the people living there growing suspicious."

"…How much money are we talking about?"

"How's half a million sound to you?"

"Sounds like a deal."

"Excellent. Your transportation here has already been arranged, as well as where you will be staying. I look forward to meeting with you and the rest of your members."

And the line went dead.

* * *

"We can always go tomorrow," Optimus murmured in Aurora's ear as he laid next to her on his recharge berth, the lights dim and soft music playing in the background, "You aren't going to need paper and stuff today are you?"

"No," she sighed as she snuggled closer to him, "But I will need some soon."

He traced a finger along her jaw, "So I'll take you tomorrow."

"People are going to think it's weird that a fire engine is parked in the parking lot though."

Optimus smiled and sighed, "I could slightly alter my vehicle form so that I am something else."

She looked up at him, "Surprise me."

He kissed her neck, "I will." His lips found hers and she sighed happily as she accepted another kiss from him.

When it was through, Optimus sighed and said, "I need to call Megatron quick and see if I can get a body guard arranged for Angelique."

"Okay."

* * *

"Okay boy, you got to be quiet," Angelique whispered as she stroked Bit on the head.

He panted loudly and barked, causing the girl to cringe and say, "Shh! I want to surprise daddy about you."

Quietly, Angelique opened the door to Megatron's quarters and looked around before she motioned for Bit to follow her inside, which he did. The living area was empty, so Angelique walked over to Megatron's quarters, but nobody was in their either. Hoping he was in his office, she went there and peeked in the door. She saw him and quickly moved out of view. Looking to Bit she whispered, "Okay, daddy is in there."

"Angelique what are you doing?"

"Uh oh…daddy heard me. Stay here boy," she whispered and smiled as Bit sat. Promptly she went to Megatron's office door and smiled sheepishly, "Do you like dogs?"

He glanced at her from where he was seated at his desk with a dumbfounded look on his face. "I wake up this morning to find you gone and then you come back only to ask me if like dogs?" he remarked confused and slightly angry, "Where were you?"

"Well, I went back to my room to shower and change my clothes…"

"It took you three hours to do that?" the Decepticon leader questioned.

"Okay so um…I had an encounter with Wing-Saber along the way."

Megatron frowned, "What did he want?"

"Another chance…but I turned it down and told him we were done and when he wouldn't listen I ran away…and went to the med bay where I visited with Red Alert until the coast was clear."

"And you want to know if I like dogs because?"

She whistled and Bit came running into the office and did a sliding stop at Megatron's feet. "Well isn't he cute," Megatron remarked with a grin when he saw the Decepticon insignia on the dog's side, "Where'd you find him?"

"He was the guy who bit my sister last night. Red Alert tampered with his programming so he isn't vicious anymore—

"What a pity…is there more?"

"I think Optimus killed them all."

Bit barked and Megatron looked at him before hesitantly stroking his head causing Bit to scoot closer to him, wanting the attention.

"Optimus to Megatron."

Megatron groaned and reluctantly answered, "What do you want Prime?"

"First, is Angelique there with you?"

"Why?"

"Because most of what I'm going to say I don't want her knowing."

Megatron grinned, "No she's not."

"In that case, it's been brought to my attention that neither her nor Aurora should be going outside of the base alone. Angelique said last night that she was going to inform you of what happened between her, Aurora, Barricade, and the dogs—

"Which she did."

"I brought one of the dogs back to the base and Red Alert examined it. He also brought it to my attention that these dogs can be mass produced and that Barricade is responsible for their creation. Thus, the girls should not be going outside alone. Angelique needs an escort."

"So why don't you assign one of your men to do so?"

"We, as Autobots, are honoring the insignia you have given her. She is a Decepticon Megatron, so she is your responsibility," Optimus stated, "But I am suggesting Starscream because I doubt you will."

"…One will be assigned to her. Megatron out," and he ended the transmission.

"I don't see why he didn't want me to know that," Angelique remarked.

"I wish you came with missile launchers," he huffed, "You cause me a lot of unnecessary grief."

"Erm…sorry?"

"How often do you leave the base?" Megatron inquired, looking to her.

"Not very often."

"Then there really is no immediate rush…just take Bit with you when you need to go outside…or just don't go outside at all."

"Sounds like a plan because quite honestly, I am sick of body guards."

Megatron smirked and turned back to his desk, "You may leave now." And to the Decepticon leader's surprise, Angelique promptly turned and left the room. He looked after her for a moment, wondering if it were a prank.

Bit whimpered a couple times before he looked to Megatron, who looked to him. Finally the Decepticon leader sighed and said, "Alright, you can go with her."

Bit barked and wagged his tail happily before he ran out of the room after Angelique.

* * *

The room was dark, with the exception of table lights that illuminated the faces of six figures. One of the people was standing, and the rest were seated quietly, patiently, and nervously. Finally the man who was standing spoke, "As I informed you earlier, I currently am campaigning to have a limestone mine built not too far outside of town, but I am facing a lot of opposition, opposition that I am certain is originating from this household." And he laid a picture of the house down on the table, where the five other men looked at it.

"So you want us to patrol this house why?" one of the men asked.

"Yes. I believe that even though the family claims it's away in Florida right now that someone is actually staying at the house that is an immediate family member." And he set another photo down on the table, but this time it was a family photo.

"This is the Carlson family. The man in the photo is named Steve, and he is accompanied by his wife, Lynda, and two daughters, Aurora and Angelique."

One of the men chuckled, "Are the two girls part of the prize too?"

"We'll negotiate that later. For now, I wish to take your names, and you don't have to give me your real names, codenames would be safer. Let's start with you."

"Blade," the man simply replied.

"Slayer," said the next.

"Gunner."

"Ace."

"Cutthroat," said the last.

Daniel McHugh looked each of the men over before smiling and saying, "I will let you do whatever is necessary to rid me of their opposition, whether it is scaring them into moving away or agreement with me. I prefer not to have anyone killed over this." And he extended his hand to Cutthroat, "Do we have a deal?"

"Deal," Cutthroat answered.

He shook his hand, sealing the deal.

* * *

Tis the end of this chapter. Please review!


	20. Don't Go Home, Or Else

I am happy, because I was able to update this story as well. But I won't ramble and I will let you guys read.

* * *

**Chapter 20: Don't Go Home, Or Else**

"Okay, so what's the plan?"

Cutthroat looked at the members of his gang emotionlessly, "Well, Money Man said that we need to patrol the Carlson family's house and figure out if anyone is living here. We'll give it two weeks. If we don't see any movement, nobody is living there."

"And if do find somebody?" Blade asked as he sat in the front passenger seat of the car, sharpening a knife.

"We kidnap them and have Ace take care of them; her specialty is making our victims feel as comfortable, or uncomfortable, as possible."

"It rather sucks we don't have to kill anybody."

"Yeah maybe things will change and we'll get to. Gunner, Slayer, you guys ready to go?" Cutthroat asked as he glanced into the backseat.

"Yeah, let's get this show on the road," Gunner replied.

"What's their address again?"

Slayer gave it to him and asked, "Money Man also managed to get the family records, he has home phone numbers and cell-phone. He found records of them going to Florida, but only two tickets were purchased. So, it's unclear if Steve and Lynda went or if Aurora and Angelique went."

Cutthroat smiled, "Let's hope it's Aurora and Angelique who stayed. Teenagers are easier to deal with."

"Plus they're cute," Blade added.

Cutthroat started the car, "Slayer, call both girl's phones. Ask for them; say you're calling as part of a committee that has formed as a result of the growing opposition to the mine being built. Make sure you ask if they're home, somehow."

"Yes sir."

"In the mean time, the rest of us will keep an eye on their house," Cutthroat stated as he pulled away.

* * *

Aurora groaned when she heard her cell-phone ring, waking her up. She sighed heavily and saw that Optimus was also awakened from her phone. "Sorry about that," she remarked as she took her phone out of her pocket.

"Just make it stop," he replied tiredly.

"Weird…it's an unknown number…" Aurora mused, but answered it before Optimus could say anything, "Hello?"

"Hi, my name is Kenneth McGuire; may I speak to Aurora Carlson?"

"This is she."

"Hello Aurora, I am sure you are well aware of the limestone mine that is being built here in Smiths Landing, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, recently there has been a lot of opposition to the mine, and by request of the town board, a team has been set up to call citizens of the town and find out their opinions of the mine. I am one of the supervisor's of the team and was wondering if I could have your viewpoint."

"I am completely against the mine."

"Alright thank you very much. The chairman of the village board will be speaking in the park today about the limestone mine being built; perhaps you could go see him?"

"Wait a minute; did Daniel McHugh set this up to try and change people's minds?"

"No, Daniel McHugh just wants to know the majority of the people's opinions. I was only suggesting," Slayer remarked, playing along since he didn't know who Daniel McHugh was.

"I don't understand why you want my opinion."

"You are a citizen of the town, are you not?"

"I am…but I can't vote yet so technically my opinion doesn't matter."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were 18. Well, thank you for your time, and do feel free to see McHugh speak about the mine."

"Yeah right, he wants my house so he isn't worth my time. I have better things to do. Goodbye."

And Aurora hung up. Optimus glanced at her, "Who was that?"

"Some Kenneth McGuire guy, wondering what I thought about the mine. He said Daniel McHugh had formed a committee to find out people's opinions on the mine. If you ask me, he sounds a little shady…I don't even know how he got my cell-phone number."

"Perhaps it was a prank call."

"Probably because the news didn't say anything about McHugh making a speech about the mine in the park today at all, and they would have."

"Well, I'm going back to sleep."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Aurora replied as she snuggled next to him.

It wasn't long until they had fallen back to sleep.

* * *

"Well?" Cutthroat asked as he parked the car a little ways up the road from the Carlson house. He quickly noticed that the backyard wasn't visible because of a fence and trees, but he didn't care. They just needed to see someone come get the mail or something.

"She said she wasn't going to see him speak because he wasn't worth her time and she had better things to do," Slayer replied.

"So she didn't say anything about being Florida."

"No sir."

"Well, it sounds like she might be home. Call Angelique."

* * *

Angelique had just left her room and stepped into Megatron's quarters to see what he was doing when her cell-phone suddenly rang, very loudly, startling both her and Megatron.

"Human," he groaned from his recharge berth, "What are you doing here so early and turn that cursed piece of machinery off."

"Hold on," she replied as she pulled the phone out of her pocket and saw the number was unknown, "Well, that's mildly suspicious."

"What is?" Megatron questioned as he rolled over, turning his back to her.

"The number is unknown," Angelique replied and decided to answer the phone, "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Angelique?"

"It depends. Who's this?"

"Kenneth McGuire—

"I don't know any Kenneth McGuire's—

"I represent a committee that was recently formed that is inquiring people's viewpoints of the limestone mine that is being built in our area."

"Oh, well, I'm against that. Some psychotic retard by the name of Daniel McHugh wants to take our land and house to build that dumb mine."

"Ah well, he is speaking in the park today about the mine, perhaps you would like to go?"

"Look, I've already made my opposition clear enough when I went around town the other night and hung up fliers with my sister that expressed the disadvantages of the mine, which might I add, outweigh the benefits."

Slayer grinned, "Oh, so your home?"

"…Um…no not at the moment…may I ask how you got my cell-phone number and didn't call the house phone instead?" And she felt a chill run down her spine when she heard the man laugh.

"I suggest that you don't go home, or else." And the line went dead.

Angelique took her phone away from her face and looked at it, seeing the call had ended. Feeling slightly numb, Angelique quickly dialed her sister's number and called her.

She heard the phone ring a couple times and then a groan and, "Angelique, what do you want? I just fell back to sleep!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry…I was just wondering if some Kenneth McGuire guy called you."

"Yeah, don't listen to him; he's probably just some prank caller."

"I'm not so sure about that. How'd he end the call with you, did he want to know if you were home?"

"No."

"Well, did he ask you if you would see Daniel McHugh speak in town today?"

"Yes."

"Did you say you wouldn't?"

"I told him that I had better things to do and that's basically where the call ended."

"Well, I told him I didn't want to since we had hung up the fliers the other night and that expressed our opposition enough. Then he asked if I was home, and I said I wasn't at the moment…and then he said I shouldn't go home or else."

"…That's not good…for more than one reason."

"Why?"

"First, Daniel McHugh will probably find out we're not in Florida right now…second, there's no telling what he'll do with that information…but it sounds like he is willing to use scare tactics to squash any opposition. Let me talk to Optimus okay? If worse comes to worst we'll scout out the area to make sure everything is okay. Just don't go home right now or go outside the base for that matter, okay?"

"Okay…thanks."

"No problem, talk to you later." And Aurora ended the call.

Angelique sighed heavily as she put her phone back in her pocket and glanced over at Megatron, who was looking at her. "What?" she asked.

"You shouldn't have mentioned the fliers. You always know how to cause trouble don't you?" he asked.

Angelique blushed, slightly embarrassed, "Not intentionally."

Megatron sighed and climbed out of his recharge berth. Angelique observed him as he did so and then commented, "You know, you've been sleeping a lot more lately than you usually do. You're usually up by now…are you feeling okay?"

The Decepticon leader scowled, "Yes…and you screwed up my sleep cycle."

"Yeah everything's my fault isn't it?" she remarked sarcastically, "I'm going to go find my puppy since he actually loves me, unlike you."

Megatron made as if he rolled his optics, "Yes, please _do_ leave." And he walked past her and into his office where the door shut.

Angelique sighed heavily and left his room, knowing she shouldn't talk about love around him. She glanced back at his door before she walked away.

* * *

"Perhaps the safest thing would be to search around your house to make sure nothing unusual is going on," Optimus stated after Aurora had explained to him what had happened to Angelique on the phone, "She really shouldn't have mentioned the fliers…but I guess we'll give her the benefit of the doubt because she's blonde."

Aurora laughed, "Where have you heard about the stereotypical dumb blondes?"

"It's amazing what you can hear from Jetfire, Hotshot, and Wing-Saber."

"Well, she's a dirty blonde, so isn't entirely dumb."

"I suppose not. You did want to go to the store didn't you?" Optimus asked.

"Yes…but I need to get cleaned up and stuff first."

Optimus let his optics go offline, trying to refrain from asking if he could take a shower with her. After all, they had only been together a few weeks and that was moving way too quickly. "Alright, I'll be waiting for you," he replied.

He heard her as she got out of the recharge berth and grabbed some clothes. He allowed his optics to come back online when he heard the door to the cleansing room close. It was strange how he was feeling. Never until this moment had he wanted to take a shower with her. He kind of wanted to keep her in his sight and not being able to see her while she was showering was bothering him. He didn't hear the door lock so he could peek in to make sure everything was—no, he wouldn't do that. He was the leader of the Autobots, and she trusted him.

Perhaps it was that threat made to Angelique that was bothering him.

He rolled over and could see the door to the cleansing room from where he was laying. He sighed heavily. Aurora was the person he cared for most in his life, if there was anything she needed he didn't want to be far away. He just felt as if something weren't right, not between them, but more like something was threatening them. And he couldn't convince himself not worry.

And Aurora was out of the cleansing room before he knew it. He checked the time on his internal clock and realized it had been about twenty minutes. He sat up in the recharge berth and glanced over at her, her hair was dry and everything. She looked over at him and softly smiled, bringing reassuring warmth to his spark.

"You ready to go?" she asked as she grabbed her purse.

"Yes." And he crawled out of the recharge berth.

She wrapped an arm around him and walked with him through the hallways of the base and then through the wilderness of her backyard. When they got to her garage, he transformed and Aurora climbed inside his vehicle form.

"So what was the name of the store again?" Optimus asked as he backed out of the driveway.

"Wal-Mart, but I'm guessing you don't need directions."

"No," he replied as he started to drive away.

* * *

"Hey boss, someone is leaving the house."

Cutthroat looked up when he heard Blade say that. He turned his attention to the windshield and watched as a vehicle backed out of the driveway and headed down the road. He grinned, "Let's follow that erm…fire engine." And he started after them.

* * *

Optimus didn't realize how short the drive was when he parked. Aurora was silent as he shut off his engine and then she remarked, "Are you feeling okay Optimus?"

Optimus was a little surprised by the question. "Yes, why?" he asked.

"You were a little more jittery than normal."

"Oh…I didn't notice."

"Ah, well…I'll be back in about ten minutes or so. If not, send out a search party. I love you."

"I love you too Aurora," he replied and hated when she left because he couldn't go with her.

* * *

"Yeah, that's Aurora alright," Gunner remarked as he held the family photo up and watched the female who had gotten out of the fire engine go into the store.

"Well, here's the plan," Cutthroat stated, "I will go wait out front and wait for her to come out. When she does, I'll ask if I can borrow her cell-phone because my car broke down. Slayer, I'll call you, so just play along. I'll ask you to drive up front to pick me up, so Blade, get behind the wheel. Slayer, Gunner, help me get her into the back seat at my signal."

"What's your signal?" Slayer asked.

"When I hand her back her phone, she'll be distracted enough. Understood?"

"We got it boss," Gunner replied with a thumbs up.

"Alright, let's do this," Cutthroat stated as he got out of the car.

* * *

Aurora sighed as she went through the self-checkout and placed the staples, tape, printer paper, and ink cartridges that she had purchased into the bag. Only five minutes had gone by, so she was keeping to her time schedule to keep Optimus from worrying. Quite honestly, she was mildly afraid of venturing out in public alone, not only because of the threat that Angelique had received that morning, but because of the fact that she had revealed who hung up the fliers all over town. And her buying staples, tape, printer paper, and ink cartridges _really_ didn't help her cause.

When the purchase was finalized, Aurora took her bag and walked out of the store, only to be stopped by a tall man. At first glance, the girl didn't really know what to make of him. He was tall, muscular, had brown hair, was clean shaven, and had nice clothes on. He looked at her with a smile in his black eyes and suddenly said, catching her off guard, "Hey, my car broke down…can I borrow your phone so I can have someone pick me up?"

And her helpful nature took over as she smiled and said, "Sure." She then proceeded to dig her phone out of her pocket and hand it to the man.

"Thanks," he said as he dialed a number. "Hey, it's me," he spoke, "I'm good, I was just wondering if you could do me a favor…well, I'm stranded at Wal-Mart because my car broke down. I was just wondering if you could pick me up…what? You're here too? Well, that's helpful. Just pull around front…yeah, yeah I'm out front…"

Aurora watched as a black car suddenly stopped in front of them. The windows were so darkly tinted that she couldn't see inside. The car looked rather new too. She watched as the man hung up and he handed her back her phone.

"Thanks," he said again.

"No problem," she replied as she took her phone back and put it in her pocket. As she did so, she heard a couple car doors open up, and when she looked up, she saw herself surrounded by four men.

"_Oh shit,"_ she thought.

"Get in the car," the man who had used her phone said, "Don't make this hard."

Aurora noticed that they had blocked the store entrance so she couldn't get back inside, and when one of the men flashed a gun, she knew she didn't have a choice. "Al-Alright," she stated quietly and reluctantly got in the car.

The rest of the men got inside as well, and they sped away before anyone could notice what had happened.

* * *

Optimus felt the fluid in his tanks churn when he realized two hours had gone by and Aurora still hadn't returned. He had tried calling her cell-phone, but no one had answered, making him even more nervous. Aurora had given him Angelique's cell-phone number in case something did happen and he needed to get a hold of her. Optimus sighed and dialed her number.

* * *

"_I suggest you don't go home, or else."_

Angelique shivered as she walked around the base, looking for Bit. She figured he had gone to the Autobot command center since she knew that the Autobots would give him attention. She wasn't really worried that she couldn't find him. The base was so large and he was so small, he could be anywhere.

But she was a bit surprised when her cell-phone rang again.

Curious, Angelique pulled out her cell-phone only to see a number on the screen that she didn't recognize. She sighed and decided to answer the phone. "Hello?" she answered.

"Angelique, this Optimus."

"Phew, somebody I actually know…but uh…how'd you get my number and why are you calling me?"

"Aurora gave it to me in case of an emergency."

"Uh oh…so I take it this is an emergency."

"Yes. I am up at Wal-Mart…Aurora had wanted to come here so she could get staples, paper, ink cartridges, and tape."

"Okay…I don't see what the problem is."

"I've been sitting here for two _hours_ and she still hasn't come out of the store. I can't go inside and look for her…do you think you could get a ride up here and go inside and see if she's there?"

"Yeah, sure no problem, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Alright, thanks." And he ended the call.

* * *

Megatron groaned when he heard someone suddenly pound, not knock, on his office door. The pounding was followed by Angelique demanding, "Megatron, open up!"

The Decepticon leader sighed as he commanded the doors to open and looked to Angelique. "What is it now?" he asked.

"My sister is missing and you're going to take me to Wal-Mart right _now_," she stated.

"What the hell is Wal-Mart?"

"A store, Optimus took Aurora up there so she could buy a couple things. He's been up there waiting for her for the last two hours to come out and she still hasn't. I just need you to give me a ride up there so I can look around the store and see if she's up there. It wouldn't take more than five minutes for you to drive me up there and come back."

"I suppose I can take you, not because I want to, just so I can get a look around the town," Megatron stated as he stood up and headed out the office door, "Did you ever find my dog?"

Angelique smirked as she followed him out into the hallway and towards the exit, "_You're_ dog?"

"Yes _my _dog. He has my insignia after all."

"He's my dog 'cause I saw him first, and no I didn't, he's probably sleeping somewhere."

Megatron shook his head and listened as Angelique said, "Though…if you got me a kitten I might think about letting you have Bit."

"I don't think so."

Angelique led him up to their garage where Megatron transformed and she got inside. Once she was in, his door closed and he backed out of the driveway and headed in the direction of Wal-Mart, using the internet to get directions.

"Your innards are fancy," Angelique remarked.

"Yeah well don't touch anything," he stated.

When they got to Wal-Mart, they immediately spotted Optimus in the parking lot and Megatron parked beside him. Optimus was a little surprised to see Megatron had brought her, but shrugged it off. He watched as Angelique got out and said, "I take it she hasn't come out yet."

"No," Optimus answered since nobody was around to hear him.

"Alright well, I'll be right back. Megatron, wait for me."

Megatron sighed and watched as Angelique disappeared inside the store. About ten minutes later she came back and said, "She's not in there. I even had one of the managers ask her on the loudspeaker to come to the customer service area…I waited ten minutes and she never showed up. She wasn't in the bathroom either."

Optimus sighed heavily, "I don't know where she could have gone…I would have seen her leave."

"I'm going to try giving a call her real quick because I'm getting a really bad feeling about this," Angelique remarked as she called her sister's cell-phone.

* * *

Slayer felt Aurora's phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and smiled when he noticed Angelique was calling this time. "Hey boss man," he remarked, "Angelique's calling."

Cutthroat smiled, "Answer it and let her know in vague details what's going on."

* * *

Angelique decided to put her phone on speaker phone so Optimus could hear in case she did pick up, and she was surprised to see her phone connected to the call. "Hello?" she said, "Aurora, are you there?"

"She can't come to the phone right now," a man replied.

"Who is this?"

"That doesn't matter."

She growled and then demanded, "What the hell is going on?

"We're just following our orders. But I'm pretty sure by now you've figured out that your sister has been kidnapped, Angelique. If you're smart, you'll leave the police out of this. Call them and your sister is done for."

"Where is she?"

"She's a little tied up at the moment, but for now she's alright."

"You better give her back unharmed or—

"Look girl, you're in no position to be threatening us. And there is no ransom for now either."

"What will it take to get her back then?"

"You have 48 hours to turn yourself over to us. We know where you live. Whenever you're ready, just call this phone and we'll come get you. I can't guarantee you we'll let her go, but the longer you wait to decide, the longer Aurora is at our mercy…and we don't like to play nice. And if the 48 hours expires and we don't hear from you…your sister is dead." And the call ended.

Angelique felt like collapsing as she put her phone back in her pocket. She heard Optimus' engine revving and could tell he was angry. She was actually surprised when Megatron spoke up and said probably the wisest thing, "Well, I suggest we get back to the base because nobody is going to find Aurora if we keep sitting in this cursed parking lot."

"…Right," Optimus agreed and drove away without waiting for them.

Angelique sighed heavily as she got back inside of Megatron and they headed back to the base as well. "You really don't plan on helping us find my sister do you?" she asked.

"Nope. She's not my responsibility."

Angelique felt crushed, "What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Well am I your responsibility?"

"…To a very slight degree."

"Then shouldn't you be concerned that the kidnappers are after me?"

"No. If you stay in the base you'll be fine."

"That's just it; I can't stay in the base. Megatron they have my sister for crying out loud, if we can't find her…I'm going to let them take me too." Angelique was stunned when Megatron suddenly hit the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road.

"You are _not_ letting them take you. I'll make this clear right now, if you let them take you, you are in for one of the most severe punishments you've ever suffered by my hand. Not only that, I will not be the one rescuing you, heck, I may not even let anyone rescue you at all. Do I make myself clear?"

"What's it matter to you if I get kidnapped or not? I thought you _wanted_ to get rid of me. Now is your chance."

Megatron growled, not really sure why he didn't want the kidnappers to take Angelique. He realized her loyalty to her sister was equal to the loyalty she had to him. If was loyalty…it was more love probably, but Megatron was so unfamiliar with the emotion that he didn't really know. He didn't say anything as he pulled forward and continued back to the base.

He wasn't sure what was going to happen from here on out, he just knew it wouldn't be pretty.

* * *

And so ends this chapter. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing, keep up the good work. I'm going to bed now.


	21. Escape Plan

So the semester is finally over. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and has a happy New Year. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter of this story. Sorry about the wait on this one.

* * *

**Chapter 21: Escape Plan**

As soon as she got in the car, they slapped duct tape over her mouth and handcuffed her arms behind her back. They forced her to lie on the floor in the back of their small four door car, under their feet, while they confiscated everything in her pockets and purse. It was the most uncomfortable thing Aurora had ever done. The car ride wasn't that long, but the position she was in made it feel like forever. When they arrived at their location, they blindfolded her and led her inside a building. They walked down a few hallways until they shoved her to the floor and bound her feet together with handcuffs.

When they tore the blindfold from her face, she realized they had used a third pair of handcuffs to shackle her to a metal pipe protruding from the wall. Essentially, they had fastened one loop of the handcuffs around the pipe and fastened the other loop around the chain to the handcuffs that were holding her wrists. And she sat on the ground, staring at their satisfied smiles.

Eventually they all left her alone. She sat in lonely silence for what felt like hours before a female rounded the corner and approached her. Aurora vaguely listened as the female said who she was, and after the brief introduction, Aurora stared at her captor as she placed her hands on her hips and gave her an accusing look.

"Look, I've seen the pictures. My brothers do not lie to me. You went to Wal-Mart in a fire engine and you were the only one in that fire engine. That fire engine is no longer at Wal-Mart. And fire engines do not move by themselves. My brothers are very thorough in what they do. Aurora, who moved the truck?"

Aurora sighed and looked away from her captor. From what she could tell, there were five of them holding her hostage. They each had nicknames they were going by so that she couldn't get their real names. Cutthroat appeared to be the one in charge with Blade, Gunner, Slayer, and Ace acting as his lackeys. Ace was the only female, and from what she could gather, the brains of the group.

"I asked you a question."

"I honestly have no idea…Angelique must have come and gotten it," Aurora replied, looking at the woman who had long black hair with scarlet highlights. Her eyes were outlined with a thick layer of black liner, and Aurora believed it made her look a lot more evil than what she probably was.

Ace stared at her for a moment, deciding to accept Aurora's answer. "You know," she said, meeting Aurora's gaze, "That truck looked exactly like Optimus Prime from the Cybertron series. How the hell did you manage to get it?"

Aurora hesitated, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

* * *

Angelique sat in the hang out nervously drumming her fingertips on the arm of the couch as Bit laid next to her, looking at her expectantly. She wiped the tears from her eyes for the millionth time, her face starting to go raw from the previous tears she had wiped away. Numbly, she tried to think of a plan to rescue her sister, but all she could think about was what her sister was possibly going through, what Optimus was going through, and funeral arrangements. She squeezed her eyes shut, _"No, no funeral arrangements."_

Bit whimpered beside her and put his head on her lap. Angelique looked at him and patted his head. "Oh boy," she said, "I don't know what to do."

"Do about what?" said a voice behind her, startling her.

She looked over her shoulder, only to see Wing-Saber coming into the room. "Wing-Saber," she exclaimed, then quickly hid her face so that he wouldn't see her tears.

"What's going on around here?" he asked, "Optimus has locked himself inside the strategy room, and he only does that when he is trying to plan something big…wait a minute…are you, are you crying?"

Angelique didn't say anything and looked away from him. "Hey now," he said and he took a seat beside her on the couch. Bit growled at him.

"Easy boy," Angelique stated.

"This thing is yours?" Wing-Saber asked, observing Bit with disdain.

"Yeah, his name is Bit. He's my dog…he's a crime dog. He kills people."

Wing-Saber looked at her skeptically and then asked, "So what's up? And don't lie. It's obvious you've been crying."

"Optimus didn't tell you?"

"No, when he got back here, he went right into the strategy room without saying a word. He hasn't come out since. Did he and Aurora get into a fight…and were you somehow involved?"

"If only it were that simple," Angelique sighed, "Aurora…she's been kidnapped."

"What? Kidnapped? By who?"

Angelique shook her head, "We don't know, but I'm pretty sure Daniel McHugh has something to do with it. Nobody would have a reason to kidnap her, but she created a lot of opposition to the mine, plus our land is standing in his way to creating the mine. With her and me out of the way, there's nobody to stop him. Our parents are vacationing in Florida for the summer…plus they want a new house, located somewhere else, they'd take McHugh's offer."

"Primus, now I know why. I'll tell the rest of the Autobots so they know what's going on. I'm guessing there's no point in informing the Decepticons, they won't help."

"No, they won't."

Wing-Saber hesitated, "They still won't help even though this matter concerns you?"

"No, I already asked Megatron to help, and he said it wasn't his problem."

"Well…have the kidnappers said anything?"

Angelique sighed, "I have 48 hours to turn myself over to them, if I don't, they'll kill Aurora."

"I'm going to go inform the rest of the Autobots, maybe together we can come up with a rescue plan and present it to Optimus. Just promise me something."

"What's that?"

"Don't do anything stupid, I still care about you."

"I'll try not to, and thank you, I really mean it."

Wing-Saber smiled, "I'll catch you later." And he left the hang-out.

* * *

"We'll make that a story for another time. I'm going to leave you alone now, I'll be back in about an hour…maybe…" and Ace walked away.

Aurora sighed heavily, relieved Ace was gone for the moment and that she was alone. She knew Optimus must've have realized that she was missing by now, she knew he must be looking for her somehow. She guessed Angelique would know too. She pressed her lips into a thin, tight line as she stared blankly at the concrete floor.

She had no control as a sob suddenly burst from her lips and tears streamed down her face. _"Damn it, Aurora. Stop crying; crying isn't going to help anything. You need to think your way out of this one. Hoping and praying someone is going to come won't get you out of this mess."_

Her tears lessened and she blinked a few times in an effort to make them stop. As quietly as she could she tried to squeeze her hands out from the handcuffs, but the handcuffs were far too tight for her to do that. The pipe was not coming loose from the wall either. She swallowed hard as she realized that her only way to escape this mess was by talking her way out of it. And since Ace was the only one who talked to her, the negotiations would have to be through her.

Aurora sighed, Ace didn't guarantee she would be coming back to talk to her. As much as she hated to think about it, she was reduced to only hoping that she could escape, alive.

* * *

"Optimus, come on let me in…" Angelique wined as she knocked continually on the door to the strategy room, "Optimus…this is your future sister-in-law, will you please let me in?"

The doors whooshed open suddenly, revealing Optimus standing in the doorway. "Oh," she remarked, surprised that he had appeared, "Thank you for—

"I have a plan to get Aurora back," he said as he looked her square in the eye.

"That's great!" she remarked, feeling hopeful.

"Yes, but it will require you putting yourself in danger, something that I am completely unsure of."

"I'll do anything it takes to get Aurora back."

"I know, as will I, but I would be beside myself if harm came to you as well."

"Explain the plan."

"You would have to turn yourself into the kidnappers, but we would put a tracking device on you, so we would know where the kidnappers took you, and hopefully Aurora would be in the same location. The next part I'm not so sure of. We would come rescue you and Aurora, but we would have to reveal our identity in the process, unless we were able to attack the kidnappers from behind."

"You don't have any smoke grenades or anything that you could use to blind the kidnappers so they can't see you?"

"Yes we could use those, along with flash grenades," Optimus stated, "However, we have no means of arresting the kidnappers. We cannot bring them back here and let them know of our existence."

Angelique thought for a moment and snapped her fingers, "What about Barricade? Couldn't he somehow add a fake name into the police system for this area, arrest the kidnappers, and take them to jail?"

"Barricade is under the orders of Megatron. Megatron would have to order him to do that. And, there is the matter of finding him. He could be anywhere."

"Bit might know where to find him."

"Bit?"

Angelique whistled and Bit was immediately by her side, wagging his tail and panting eagerly. "Meet Bit," she said, "I'm sure you recognize him. Red Alert fixed him up and changed his programming, but he might still know how to find Barricade."

"Alright, I'll let you try and find him, but if you plan on going outside, you can't go alone."

"Bit will protect me; I'll even make him disguise himself as a German shepherd or something so that he doesn't look conspicuous to the public eye."

"I would still like someone to go with you."

Angelique sighed, "Barricade will not come if there is an Autobot with me, and no Decepticon will come either."

"Then I suggest a disguise."

The girl nodded, "I do have something else to ask though…"

"Go on."

She sighed heavily, "On the way back from Wal-Mart, I told Megatron that if we couldn't get Aurora back, that I would let the kidnappers take me so that I could try to. He was so _mad_ when I said that, that he told me that I'd be in for one of the most severe punishments ever, that he wouldn't rescue me, and he might not let anyone rescue me if that were to happen."

Optimus smiled gently and put his hands on her shoulders and lowered himself to her eye-level. "Angelique, Megatron cares a lot about you, but he will not admit it—

"Why?"

"He is afraid it would ruin his reputation. If he truly did not want you around, he would not let you keep coming back to see him. And the only reason he would reprimand you so strongly is because he is afraid to lose you. Tell him my plan and the part you will be playing in it, but do not ask for his permission. Whether or not he decides to help rescue you and Aurora will be completely up to him. If he doesn't want to help, don't hold it against him. Once you and Aurora get back to the base let him come to you first. Give him time to miss you. Alright?"

"Thank you Optimus."

"No problem kiddo. Now, I have things I need to do, as do you. Let's get this plan moving as quickly as possible."

"You got it Optimus, come on Bit, we've got some hunting to do."

* * *

"_That truck looked exactly like Optimus Prime from the Cybertron series…"_

Aurora was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open, but when she remembered Ace saying that, a flare of energy passed through her. No, Ace had not come back within an hour like she said she might, but Aurora was sure she had to come back. The fact that Ace had revealed she knew about the Transformers cartoon created her bargaining point. She just had to wait for her to come back. Until she did though, Aurora decided it would be safe enough to try and get some sleep; after all, she needed as much energy as she could get.

But, it felt like her eyes were only closed for a few minutes when someone nudged her and Aurora snapped her eyes open, only to see Ace looming above her. "Wake up sleepy head," she said.

"You came back," Aurora mumbled tiredly.

"You seem surprised," she smirked, "Good."

"I guess…um, are you a transformers fan? I can explain how I got that truck that looks like Optimus."

Ace was silent for a few moments, the smirk gone from her face. Finally she knelt down so that she was eye level with Aurora and said in a low voice, "Yes, but if my brothers ever knew, they would kill me for being so childish."

"Your secret is safe with me; I'm a big fan of the show too. I take it you're a fan of the Decepticons?"

"Yes," and she looked around quickly, "This is completely against my protocol, but I'll make an exception for a transformers fan. I've never talked to another fan before."

"Thank you…even though I'm more of an Autobot fan. My sister is a huge fan of the Decepticons herself."

"Which one is your favorite?"

"Optimus…yours?" Aurora prayed and hoped that she wouldn't say Megatron. If she said Megatron, then she was doomed.

Ace smiled sheepishly, "Starscream. I have a fan girl crush on him."

Aurora shrugged, "It happens. I have one too, on Optimus. My sister is head over heels for Megatron."

"Megatron?" Ace remarked surprised, "What does she see in him?"

"I honestly have no idea."

"Well, I've been dying to know where you got the replica of Optimus. You do not understand the scream I had to keep inside of me when I saw that."

"What I'm about to tell you is the honest to God truth, and if you allow me, I can prove it to you. That truck I was in earlier was not a replica of Optimus Prime. It was the real deal."

Ace laughed, "You mean to tell me, the transformers are real?"

"Yes. Optimus, Megatron, even Starscream."

Ace stopped laughing, "And you can prove this?"

"Yes, I can. But if you ever told a soul they existed, they would have to lock you up. The only reason my sister and I are in such opposition to the mine is because the transformers built their base in the exact location they want to put the mine. I know Daniel McHugh hired you, and quite honestly, this kidnapping ordeal he has you going through is a waste of your time. Let me go and I will introduce you to Starscream personally, you have my word."

"I don't believe it…I can't believe it, transformers is a cartoon!"

"I'm only 17 years old; it really doesn't make sense for me to be driving around a fire engine either, especially when I don't have the license to do so. Exact replicas of Cybertron Optimus Prime do not exist."

"…I still can't believe it."

"Get my cellphone. I will have you call a number that will connect you directly with Optimus Prime."

"How do I know it's not a fake?"

"Make the call and find out yourself."

Ace pursed her lips to the side, "I'll be right back."

* * *

Optimus decided that he would explain what was going on and his plan to the Autobots in the morning. It was getting really late, he was tired, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. He was too worried about what Aurora could be going through. He sighed heavily as he lay on his recharge berth, staring emptily at the ceiling. A few hours ago, Aurora had been lying beside him in this very recharge berth, everything was perfect. He forced his optics offline, how had everything gone so wrong? If only he had been able to go inside the store with her.

He prayed that she was alright, that they hadn't hurt her—

"Optimus…Optimus it's me are you there?"

The Autobot leader sat bolt upright as his comlink suddenly buzzed to life, Aurora's voice coming through as clear as daylight.

"Yes…yes I am. Are you alright? Primus, please tell me you are."

"I'm fine; don't worry about me, please. They haven't treated me bad."

"I promise everything is going to be okay."

"I know it is, you don't understand how much better I feel hearing your voice."

Optimus was just about to say something when he heard a voice in the background say, "Alright Aurora wrap it up. Seeing is believing, not hearing."

"Optimus I have to go…"

"I understand."

"Tell Angelique to be careful, please. I love you."

He sighed, pain ripping through his spark, "I love you too."

And he listened as the call went dead. He swallowed, and stared into the dark stillness of his room for what seemed like ages, trying to replay her voice over and over again in his head. Finally he lay back on his recharge berth. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Angelique had to admit she was impressed by Bit's ability to make himself look exactly like a German shepherd, fur included. She had shown him a picture of the dog breed, he scanned the image, and transformed into it. She wished her disguise would be that easy, but she knew she didn't have the ability to transform. Instead, she put on a pair of jeans, a sports bra that made her look like she had no breasts at all, and a baggy t-shirt. She then grabbed a baseball cap and tucked all her hair underneath it. After glancing at herself in the mirror, she grabbed a light jacket and left the base with Bit.

Instead of walking to her house, she walked with Bit to the other end of the gully and into town that way, hoping that the kidnappers wouldn't notice her or recognize her. "Okay boy," she said as she held up a picture of Barricade in robot and vehicle form, "Find him, your creator."

Bit barked once and headed off deeper into town. Angelique hoped he was leading her in the right direction as she followed after him. She followed him down several streets and finally he began leading her outside of town. When they had gone about a mile down a road that led to the middle of nowhere, Bit suddenly stopped and sat.

"Bit, why'd you stop?" Angelique remarked as she stopped beside him, catching her breath, "There's nothing here. We're in the middle of nowhere. You know we have to find Barricade."

Suddenly Bit began to growl. Angelique glanced around and saw the familiar eyes that she and Aurora had seen when they returning home from hanging up the posters in town.

"What are you doing here gynoid?" said a voice brusque behind her.

Angelique whipped around to catch the gleam of a police car. "Barricade…I need your help."

"Why should I help you?"

"I can take you to Megatron."

"I will speak to him first, before I help you with anything. Let's go."

Angelique sighed in relief as he pulled up beside her and opened his door. She got inside the car, Bit beside her. The door slammed and he sped off in the direction of the base, following Angelique's directions. "What about your other dogs?" Angelique asked as he pulled into the gully.

"They'll be fine."

"Okay, well, stop here. The door to the base is just over there."

He stopped and she and Bit got out. Bit assumed his normal form while Barricade transformed into his robot form. He followed Angelique into the base. Angelique wasn't sure where Megatron would be, but this late at night, she figured he would be in his quarters. Barricade followed her to Megatron's room and when they arrived at the door she said, "This is the same Megatron, but his form has changed, so you may not recognize him."

"I understand."

Angelique knocked on the Decepticon leader's door, hoping he would answer. She cringed when he appeared in the door way, a disgusted look on his face. "What do you possibly want at this hour, human?" he demanded.

"Megatron, meet Barricade. Barricade, Megatron."

Barricade kneeled, causing Megatron to smile. "The gynoid was right when she said your form was different, but your energy signature is the same."

"Make yourself at home Barricade, I know it's late, so I'll have you briefed on our current situation in the morning," Megatron stated.

"Yes sir," and he stood.

"Well, I have some briefing I need to do now," Angelique stated, "Barricade, are you registered in the human police system as an actual cop?"

"Yes…humans would grow suspicious if I weren't."

"Okay…so if you arrested somebody and brought them to jail, it would be normal?"

"Yes."

"Great! You see, some people kidnapped my sister and Optimus came up with a plan to take them down, and we really, really, really need your help."

Barricade looked to Megatron. Megatron simply crossed his arms and said, "And just what is this plan?"

"Uh…well…I'm going to hand myself over to the kidnappers, but I'm going to have a tracking device on so that we know where the kidnappers take me. Optimus is then going to storm in with the help of the Autobots and free Aurora and me, but Barricade, we need you to show up and arrest them on the charge of kidnapping, as well as Daniel McHugh, for probable cause."

Angelique watched as a terrible frown went across Megatron's face. She winced as he replied, "I thought I made it clear that I wasn't going to help."

"Barricade, will you do this as a personal favor? I took you to Megatron like you wanted."

"I never said I would help you," Barricade remarked.

"Please…I'm asking you as a fellow Decepticon."

Megatron laughed, but stopped when he heard Barricade say, "I'll do it just this once, but don't expect me to help you again."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Whatever…is there a place where I can recharge?"

"Around the corner, there are some empty rooms," Angelique replied.

"Thank you," and he walked away.

Angelique didn't have time to run when Megatron suddenly and viciously grabbed her by the arm and yanked her into his room where he pinned her to the wall forcefully. "What did I tell you?" he snarled, his pale blue optics piercing into her hazel eyes.

"I'm not asking for your permission, I'm doing what needs to be done to save my family and this base."

"You dare to disobey me?"

"You never said I couldn't turn myself into the kidnappers. You only spelled out a punishment if I did."

She felt something heavy and hard connect with her face, sending stars to her eyes. She blinked a few times as the searing pain stung through her cheek. She felt tears sliding down her cheeks as she realized Megatron had just punched her.

Optimus had never said Megatron would react like that…

Angelique swallowed as she stared at Megatron through teary eyes. His anger hadn't left him and she didn't dare open her mouth. She heard Bit whine outside the door.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't beat you," he seethed.

"This is the last time you'll ever have to see me. When I walk out that door tonight, I'll never come back. You can have your life back and act as if I never existed."

Without a word, he let her go. And before she could say anything else, he turned and walked away. With a heavy heart, Angelique left his quarters. She promised herself she wouldn't cry until she got to her room. And when she did get there, she let every emotion that was trapped inside her heart pour out into her pillow. And she fell asleep that way, deciding that she would tell Optimus everything when she woke up in the morning…

* * *

Feedback is appreciated, thank you!


	22. Guilty Conscience

So, I was looking over my reviews for each of my stories, and I guess my brain is addicted to Facebook because I wanted to "like" some of the reviews. And that got me wishing that FFN was more like Facebook...alas Facebook has destroyed me. Anyhow, I'm done ranting, here's the next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 22: Guilty Conscience**

Aurora woke up completely cramped. Her butt was numb and tingling, her arms that were pinned behind her didn't feel much better. She had long since lost feeling in her legs. Her stomach hurt, she was hungry, she was exhausted, she felt dirty and wanted to shower, and she had to use the rest room, desperately. She had thought for sure she had made progress with Ace last night, but she would have to wait until she talked with her today to see if any real progress had been made. That was, if Ace came to speak to her.

She had a plan, Aurora knew it would work; she just needed Ace to stick around long enough to convince her. She had nothing against her, and while she was unaware of her past, she believed that Ace was good and had a heart. After all, all she was doing was interrogating her. If everything worked out, she could show Starscream to Ace in the end.

* * *

Angelique awoke with tears in her eyes, a throbbing left cheek, and a broken heart. She didn't dare look at her face in the mirror and instead immediately got in the shower. She let the warm fluid cleanse her body, as she stood there, naked, her bottom lip quivering. She squeezed her eyes closed. "Don't cry," she pleaded with herself out loud, "Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry…he isn't worth your tears."

But the tears came anyway. "Damn it," she breathed, "After all the sobbing I did last night, I should have run out of tears." She wiped her tears and quickly tried to distract herself by shampooing her hair. When that didn't work, she rinsed the shampoo out of her and moved on to the conditioner. But that didn't distract her either.

Glumly, Angelique scrubbed her body and when she was finished, she let the soap run off her body and watched the suds go down the drain before she turned off the cleansing fluid. Sighing, she squeezed excess fluid from her hair and grabbed a towel that was hanging outside the shower. After she toweled herself off, she wrapped the towel around herself to cover herself, and stepped out of the shower, only to see herself in the mirror.

"Oh man," she groaned as she went over to the mirror and looked at the fist sized bruise on her cheek. It was a deep purple and black, and she knew no amount of makeup could cover it up. Thinking quickly, she grabbed her hair dryer and immediately dried her hair. After about ten minutes when her hair was completely dry, she brushed her hair so that it covered her bruise. But, most of her hair fell in her eyes. She knew there was nothing else she could do though and proceeded to get dressed. Angelique knew she had more important things to worry about than the bruise, and finding Optimus was her top priority that morning.

* * *

Aurora was more than relieved to see Ace show up. She was about to say something, but Ace beat her to it by saying, "Come on, I'm taking you to the bathroom." She then proceeded to free her from the handcuffs.

Aurora gratefully stood up, but had to wait a bit for feeling to return to her legs. Once it had, she followed Ace down a series of hallways until they arrived at a bathroom. Aurora glanced inside and saw there was a shower inside with all the commodities she would need to take a shower. She glanced at Ace, "Can I shower too?"

"I would hope you would, but don't take too long. I'll be out here waiting, once you get done, I'll take you to get something to eat. Besides, we need to talk."

"Yes, we do," Aurora agreed, but she decided not to waste any more time and stepped inside the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. After going to the bathroom, she proceeded to take the quickest shower she possibly could. She dried her hair and after dressing, she stepped back outside the bathroom.

"That didn't take long," Ace remarked, looking her over, "You look better."

"I feel better too," she replied, "But what is it you want to talk about?"

Her captor glanced around before saying, "Let's walk and talk."

"Alright," Aurora said as she fell into step with her.

Ace sighed heavily, "My brothers are going to be gone all day patrolling your house to try and get your sister. While they are gone, I want you to take me to see the Transformers. Seeing is believing, and, I can't let this opportunity pass by."

"Okay, but how do you plan on getting there? I don't know where we are—

"You're going to call your so-called robo-boyfriend to a place I choose. Tell him you'll explain everything when he gets here."

"Alright."

"And you have to make sure to tell him he doesn't leave from your house, my brothers will follow him, and we cannot have that."

"Are they really your brothers?"

"…No, but let's get going," Ace replied, and handed Aurora an apple, "That's all I have. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Aurora remarked. She only hoped they were heading to the exit, and she figured they were when Ace suddenly blindfolded her.

"Sorry I have to do this, but I don't want you to know where we are. I'm not going to hurt you."

"I hope not," she responded, and felt as Ace led her forward, through a door, and into a car. She felt the car drive away and after a few minutes, she heard Ace sigh.

"You can take the blindfold off now."

Aurora did so, and looked around. She smirked as she recognized where Ace had parked the car. It was the pier that Optimus had taken her to on their first date. It was just as abandoned now as it had been when Optimus brought her.

"Call him," Ace stated as she handed Aurora her cellphone, "And absolutely no surprises."

Aurora nodded, but she did have one surprise in mind…

* * *

Angelique was horrified when she found Optimus in the Autobot command center, addressing all his troops. She hesitated outside the door, not daring to go in. Instead, she managed to catch Optimus' attention, and she waved for him to come to her. He excused himself from his troops and came out.

"You know," he said when they were out of earshot and sight of the rest of the Autobots; "You don't have to be afraid to come in."

"Normally I wouldn't be, but today in particular I am," but instead of explaining herself, Angelique proceeded to explain, "I found Barricade last night and brought him back here. He agreed to help us, even though Megatron still refuses to."

"At least we have Barricade, and he'll be a tremendous asset anyway."

"I told him what he needs to do."

Optimus nodded, "Did you tell Megatron the plan, and that you're helping regardless of what he thinks?"

She looked down and admitted quietly, "Yeah I did, and thoroughly regretted it."

"What happened?"

She swallowed and looked at him, "Well…" And she let her hair fall away from her face.

"He did that to you?" Optimus remarked somberly as he saw the bruise.

"I was lucky to get away with just that. I had to agree I'd never see him again in order to keep him from beating me to a pulp…"

"I…I'm sorry Angelique, if I had known he was going to do that I wouldn't have told you to tell him what you did. I thought he was past the point of hurting you."

"So did I."

"Good morning Optimus, its Aurora," Optimus' comlink suddenly buzzed.

Optimus and Angelique exchanged glances before Angelique remarked, "You better answer that!"

"Aurora, sweetheart, I'm here," he replied quickly, causing Angelique to smile and cross her arms.

"I need you to do me a favor," she explained, "You see, one of my captors is a transformers fan, and I think if I can convince her that you guys are indeed the real deal, she'll let me go."

"I'm sitting right here you know," they heard the captor say.

Optimus hesitated, "Alright, I'll do it. Where are you?"

"You need to send Starscream."

"Wahoo!" Angelique cheered, "We found a girlfriend for Screamer! I'll go get him."

"Hold on Angelique," Optimus remarked and then asked Aurora, "Why Starscream?"

"It would be best. Tell him he needs to come to the pier to pick me up, if he refuses, then it'll have to be you Optimus. Let me know when one of you is coming."

"I'll see what I can do," Optimus replied, "Just be careful Aurora."

"You can trust me."

He smiled, "I know. I'll call you back soon."

"Okay, thanks Optimus," and she ended the call.

Optimus then turned to Angelique, "You're a Decepticon. Go work your magic."

"Yes sir!" she saluted before running off. Angelique decided she would try Starscream's quarters first, but if he wasn't there, she knew he would be in the Decepticon command center. She just hoped that Megatron wouldn't be, and that she wouldn't accidentally run into him.

When she got to the Decepticon second-in-command's quarters, she pounded on the door, but he didn't answer. "Great," she breathed and quickly took off in the direction of the Decepticon headquarters. She managed to get there without bumping into anyone. She stopped outside the door, hesitating. She took a deep breath, and entered. Quickly, she glanced around, hoping to spot the seeker without accidentally spotting Megatron first. But luck wasn't so kind to her. Megatron was one of the first people she saw, and he looked directly at her with a scowl on his face.

"What are you doing—

"Starscream," she said, cutting him off, "I need to speak with Starscream."

All optics fell on the Decepticon second-in-command and he turned to Angelique. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I'll explain along the way," she responded.

Starscream glanced at Megatron, but didn't wait for his approval as he stepped forward and followed Angelique out of the command center. "What do you want?" he asked again, once the door closed behind them.

"You heard how my sister has been kidnapped, right?"

"No."

"Well, she's been kidnapped, and we need you to prove your existence to one of her captors in order for Aurora to be let go."

"That's all I have to do, prove I exist?"

"Yes…and possibly bring Aurora back here if need be."

"Where do I have to go?"

"The pier, Optimus has the coordinates, so we'll have to get those from him, but if you did this, it would mean a lot to me."

"I suppose I could, as a…_fellow_ Decepticon and use this as an opportunity to get out of this cursed base for once," he mused and then asked, "I do have a few questions though."

"Okay…shoot, but not literally."

He shook his head, "This 'captor' isn't a fan girl is it?"

"Fan girl?" Angelique asked skeptically.

"Like you, a rabid breed of human female who is obsessed with a fictional character or actor, and one who is prone to occasional glomping, groping, and tackling when encountering said obsessions."

She blushed profusely, even though she knew the blush was only showing on one cheek, "I have no idea. Aurora's captor is going to have to stay professional and in control when and if you show up. I wouldn't think she'd overreact. Besides, you have the ability to just fly away before she touches you."

"True…" and he trailed off, thinking. After a few moments he finally said, "Alright I'll do it. Where's Optimus?"

"I'll take you to him."

"Okay," he replied as he followed her out of the Decepticon section of the base, "What happened to your cheek?"

"Ask your 'oh so great' and 'wise' leader."

He snickered, "I think it's about time he clobbered you one."

"You are an ass. What is it with you Decepticons having no respect for females?"

"We do have respect for females, well, certain females at least. Don't forget we have hated humans since the moment we first stepped foot on Earth. It's hard to treat you with the same dignity; especially since us Decepticons can barely tolerate one another."

"Why doesn't Megatron tell me these things?"

"Well, did you ever ask?"

"I…no, I didn't. I just assumed he treated me the way he does because it's who he is, it's the only way of life he's known."

"No, it isn't. Megatron knows how to treat a woman. It's the woman that needs to know how to treat Megatron."

"Well, I don't care," she said, "I've given up."

"On Megatron?"

"Yes, after last night there is just no way."

"I was wondering why he seemed extra irritated this morning. If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

Angelique sighed heavily, "Well, I went out and found Barricade, because we needed his help in arresting Aurora's captors, and I brought him back to Megatron. But, when I told Megatron the plan that Optimus had, and that I would be helping in order to save my sister and this base, he flipped out. If he's going to hinder me each time I try to do what everybody knows is the right thing and if it's going to piss him off that much…there's just no way."

"What is Optimus' plan?"

"Well, last night when I talked to him, the plan was for me to allow the kidnappers to take me, since I have 48 hours to turn myself over to them before they kill Aurora. I was going to wear a tracking device so that the Autobots could monitor where I was. Then when I stopped moving, they were going to break in and rescue both Aurora and me."

Starscream was silent and Angelique observed the perplexed look on his face. It made her uneasy and she asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Do you remember that time I told you that if you could get Megatron to love, it would solve his depression, and that you're the only one who cares about him?"

"Yes."

"Have you done anything with him?"

"What do you mean?"

He groaned, "You know, like kissing."

"Oh," and she smiled, "Don't tell anyone, but we almost made babies together once."

"That was more than I cared to know…but obviously you two have had your moments."

"Yes, we have."

He laughed, "Don't you see it?"

"See what?"

"Megatron beat you because there was no other way to stop you; he knows he isn't going to keep you from doing what you want to, which is the right thing. Normally, Megatron wouldn't give a damn if you were putting yourself in danger."

"Please Starscream; don't make it look like he hit me because he cares. If he cared, he would understand what I'm doing and at least be supportive."

"I'm not saying Megatron cares…even though I _think_ he does, but don't quote me on that. I'm only saying Megatron obviously doesn't want to lose you."

"Regardless, I told him he would never have to see me again after he hit me, and he let me go."

"He'll be seeing you. I can guarantee that."

She sighed heavily, "Please, don't let him."

* * *

Aurora stole a glance at Ace, who was looking at her, bewildered. "Are you sure you're not insane?" her captor asked, "I mean, I'm expecting men dressed in cardboard boxes to show up."

"I told you I'm telling the truth."

"But it's impossible."

"A true Transformers fan would think otherwise."

Ace growled, "Just how did you meet them?"

"I wished for them to come to life, and my toys did."

Ace groaned as she slapped a hand to her face, "You mean to tell me, even if they are alive, they're only like, a foot tall?"

"No!" Aurora exclaimed exasperated, "I wouldn't be dating one of them if they were only that tall. They're about six, seven foot. When they transform, they use a morphing chip so that they are their full vehicle size. That's why you _thought_ you saw an exact replica of Optimus yesterday."

"But Starscream? Really?"

"I thought I would give you what you really wanted to see. By the way, I know your real name isn't Ace, so what is it?"

She hesitated before saying, "Just call me Joey."

"Nickname?" she asked.

Joey nodded, "Yes."

"So what's your story?"

"What do you mean?"

"Where are you from, how old you, what do you do for a living?"

She pursed her lips to the side, "Don't use this against me, okay?"

"I promise I won't."

Joey sighed heavily, "I'm from New York City, I was born and raised there. It's always been my home. I'm 23 years old, and I've been part of this gang since I was 13. The things I've done, you would hate me for and your little sheltered pea brain couldn't begin to understand the life I've lived."

"I'm not judging you."

Joey smirked, "Oh really? I'm into witchcraft and meditation; I guess you could call me a bit of a vampire freak as well. And, I love death metal and the supernatural."

Aurora shrugged, "You have your preferences."

"And you have your perfect little life."

Aurora sighed just as her cellphone rang. She looked at it and noticed it was Optimus. She smiled, "Hey Optimus."

"I just thought I would let you know that Starscream is on his way."

"Wow, you actually got him to come?"

"You can thank your sister for that. She has a way with the Decepticons."

"I guess so, well, thanks, but I guess I better let you go. Hopefully I'll see you soon."

"As do I."

Aurora hesitated, not wanting to hang up, "Everything will be okay Optimus."

"Or so you hope," Joey remarked as she took the phone out of Aurora's hand and hung up, "So who's coming?"

"Starscream, and he should be here at any moment."

"Stay in the car," Joey remarked. After grabbing the keys, she got out of the car and shut the door behind her. She leaned against the doorframe, not really sure which direction to look since she didn't know which way Starscream was coming. They were surrounded by forest; there was a river in front of them, and one way out, which was the road behind them.

She heard the drone of jet engines suddenly, and she looked up to see a jet pass by overhead, so high in the sky that it looked like a small dot. Joey almost laughed, _"Was that supposed to be Starscream?"_

"You must be the one that I'm here to see," a voice suddenly spoke behind her, a _very_ familiar raspy voice.

Joey whirled around, only to see none other than Starscream standing there, his arms crossed, a smirk on his face. "N-No way," she remarked as she looked him over.

"Why don't you let her go?" he asked, gesturing to the car, "It would save everybody a lot of trouble."

"W-Wait…transform."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

He grumbled and transformed into his jet mode and then back. "Happy?" he asked as he approached her.

Joey felt excitement and panic bubble inside her heart when he stopped just feet from her. Without realizing what she was doing, she reached out and touched him. She felt the seeker stiffen beneath her touch. "You are real…" she breathed, her fingertips dancing over his metal armor.

She blushed when she saw him smirk and quickly averted her eyes from his. He chuckled, "What is it human? Is the real Starscream too much for you?"

"I think so," she answered softly and then quickly retracted her hand. She opened the door to her car and said, "I have to go."

"What about Aurora?"

"I never said that I might let her go. If I did, that would be the end of me."

"I think it's best if you didn't tamper with Optimus' mate. You know he has a lot of friends that can easily stop you, as if you're nothing."

"I'm not worried." Suddenly her cellphone rang. Without looking to see who was calling her, she answered. "Hello?" she asked.

"Where the f—k are you?" a male voice screamed at her, causing Joey to move the phone away from her ear, "And where the hell is Aurora?"

"She's with me; we only went for a small drive—

"Are you f—king stupid? Get the hell back here now or else!" And the line went dead.

"Not worried?" she heard Starscream ask, "It sounds to me like you're terrified." And she watched as he transformed and flew away. Joey sank into the car and started it.

"We don't have to go back there," Aurora pleaded, "I can take you away from all of that. You just have to trust me."

"Aurora, please don't hate me. You don't have to put the blindfold on, but please don't hate me."

And Aurora felt her heart drop to her feet. She knew exactly where they were going.

* * *

Optimus slammed his fist into the wall when Starscream told him what happened. "Why didn't you stick around and follow them to see where they went?" he demanded.

"You never told me I had to," Starscream growled.

"Stop arguing! Optimus, go get that tracking device ready, I'm going to go change my clothes and call those stupid idiots and tell them to come get me," Angelique spoke.

"Why do you need to change your clothes?" Starscream asked.

"That way if I get shot and bleed all over the place, I won't ruin a good outfit."

"Angelique," Optimus groaned, "_Please_ don't talk like that. But when you're ready, meet me at the med bay."

She nodded and watched as the Autobot leader walked away. She was just about to walk away herself when Starscream spoke up. "You want me to tell Megatron you're leaving soon?"

"There's no need to. He wouldn't notice if I never came back." And she headed for her quarters.

* * *

Aurora was immediately taken back to where she had been held before, handcuffed and helpless. She sighed heavily, her plan had failed, and she was at the mercy of her captors. She had no idea what their plan was for her. And she had run out of options.

She hadn't been sitting there very long when suddenly Joey was led into the room she was in by another one of the kidnappers. He forced her to the ground beside Aurora and proceeded to handcuff her to the pipe and then shackle her ankles together as well. He then walked away without saying a word, locking the door behind him.

"You okay Joey?" she asked.

She heard as Joey stifled a sob, "Yeah…but I think my membership in this gang has been revoked."

"It's okay; we'll figure a way out of this."

"Aurora, if your sister doesn't turn herself in by tomorrow, they're going to kill both of us."

"No, that's not going to happen—

"You want a bet?" and Joey sighed heavily, "What are the chances that if Optimus comes to rescue you, he'll rescue me too?"

"I'll make sure he does, and we'll take you back to the base with us. You'll be safe there."

"God, I hope so."

* * *

Angelique changed into a pair of jeans she didn't particularly care for as well as a shirt. She then picked her cellphone up from her nightstand. It was fully charged. Quickly she jammed it in her pocket and turned to leave. The door opened, only to reveal the leader of the Decepticons.

"Shit…" she breathed as she observed him standing in her doorway, arms crossed, a frown heavy on his face. There was no way around him.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked.

"Yes and I'm in a hurry, so if you would please get out of my way."

"You've never gotten out of mine," he said as he cupped her face in his hand and tilted her head so he could get a better look at the bruise he created.

"Last night I said you could have your life back and act as if I never existed."

"Well, that's impossible."

"What do you want?" she demanded, slapping his hand away.

"Starscream informed me you were leaving and well, you may not be coming back."

"What's it to you?"

"We shouldn't leave any unspoken words between us, any regrets, if you know what I mean. If there is anything you want to tell me, now would be the time to do it."

"You really think I would have something to say to you, after what you did last night? That's _some _ego you got there."

"Is that really what you want your last words to me to be? Most couples have something more interesting and pathetic to say."

"We're not a couple."

"Let's pretend that we are," he said coming into her room, the door closing behind him, "Let's pretend I love you."

"You're wasting my time."

He stopped inches from her; Angelique looked up at him, not amused. "You don't want to play, do you?" he remarked.

"I meant what I said last night." She gasped when he suddenly pulled her directly against him, she heard him breathing heavily in her ear as he held her tightly where she was.

"A long time ago I told you that you are my Decepticon, linked solely to me by Primus knows what, that I don't reciprocate your feelings, but I appreciate them nonetheless—

"And you'd like to keep me around, no matter how annoying I am at times," Angelique finished for him.

"I realize now my actions have made you forget that. Last night, I overreacted, I just…" he hesitated as he looked her over, searching for the right words, "I don't want you to go because I don't know what I am supposed to if I should lose the only person that cares about me."

For a moment, Angelique thought she saw tears in his optics, but they were gone by the time she could really tell. "Megatron, I'll always be right here," she remarked as she pointed to his chest to where his spark was, "If you would let me be."

"It would never work, I would always hurt you. I am not designed to love or be loved. I just wanted to say I was sorry for letting you down, since the very beginning and I'm sorry for hurting you for no reason."

"Megatron, I really don't think you would have that much of a guilty conscience if something did happen to me."

He smiled, "More than you would know. But if you should happen to make it back, this conversation never happened." And he let her go.

She shook her head. "Of course not," she remarked as she headed for the door. It opened, and before she walked out she turned to Megatron and said, "I really do love you…but goodbye." And she walked away.

* * *

"This has to be the most awkward tracking device, ever," Angelique remarked as she looked herself over in a mirror, "How come it doesn't blink?"

"Most tracking devices don't, if they did, they'd be easy to spot. If we're lucky, our villains won't think your earrings are being used to track your location," Red Alert remarked, "Even if they confiscate them, we'll still know your location."

"Awesome," she said as she looked to Optimus, "You ready to do this?"

"As long as you are," he replied.

"Let's go," she remarked, leading the way out of the med bay.

Optimus planned on walking to her the exit of the base, just to give her last minute preparation and peace of mind if need be. This was their only shot at saving Aurora, at saving the base, at saving themselves.

"You seem to be in a better mood," Optimus observed.

"I'm scared as hell," she admitted, "Don't tell anyone, but Megatron stopped by before I left for the med bay."

"I was wondering what took you," the Autobot leader mused, "What did he want?"

She simply smiled, "Optimus, everything is going to be okay."

Optimus knew that whatever happened between her and Megatron was good, and she didn't need to share. He wished Angelique good luck once they got to the exit of the base, and waited until she was gone before he went back inside to get his men ready.

When Angelique got to the house, she immediately took her phone out of her pocket and dialed Aurora's cellphone number. It was now or never.

"Hello Angelique," a male voice answered.

She skipped formalities, "Come get me, I'm at my house."

"There better not be any surprises," he said and then hung up.

Angelique went and waited in her driveway. She didn't have to wait long for a black car to pull into her driveway, two men in the front. One got out and came and grabbed her by the arm. He didn't say anything as he threw her in the back seat of the car. He then got in the back beside her and quickly blindfolded her.

"Let's go," he said.

Angelique listened as the tires screamed against the pavement as they quickly drove away.

* * *

Many, many thanks to everyone who has been reading/reviewing this story. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and um, please review! :)


	23. For Dear Life

So, FanFiction is just like Facebook I guess, always changing. Anyways, sorry to keep you guys waiting for this chapter. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last one. Just a warning, there are mild suggestive themes towards the end of these. No peeking now :D

* * *

**Chapter 23: For Dear Life**

Aurora had barely enough energy to look up when she heard the door open. She glanced over to the doorway and cringed since her eyes couldn't take the intensity of the light. After a few moments though, she was able to make out two dark figures coming into the room. She watched as one of the figures was forced to sit down across from her. The other figure then left, locking the door behind him. Aurora tried to stare through the moonlight, which was the only source of light in the room, in order to figure out who the newest prisoner was. She felt her stomach drop when she recognized who it was.

"Angelique?"

"Oh thank goodness, you're still alive."

"Yes, and uninjured. What the hell are you doing here? Don't tell me those idiots kidnapped you too."

"No, I turned myself in. Starscream was stupid for not following you," Angelique replied.

"I'm sitting right here you know…"

"Um, Aurora, who was that?"

"Joey, she was my former captor," Aurora answered.

"Former?"

"Yeah," Joey said sadly, "My only way of life blew up in my face this afternoon. I'm now in the same boat as you guys."

"I want her to come back to the base with us when we are freed," Aurora added.

"I'm down with that. She can be Starscream's girlfriend, he _needs_ one."

Joey laughed dryly, "I _doubt_ that."

"We'll see what happens," Aurora said, "Now Angelique, why did you turn yourself in? You didn't need to do that."

"They guys out there aren't listening in are they?" she asked.

"No," Joey answered, "They have no way to."

"Okay, well, first and foremost, I couldn't have you dying Aurora. That would've been beyond terrible. But, Optimus came up with this awesome plan to rescue you," Angelique explained.

Aurora couldn't help but smile, "Oh really?"

"Yeah, even though he didn't want to put me in danger to rescue you, there was no other way. The earrings I'm currently wearing are tracking devices, so the Autobots know exactly where I am right now. They're using stealth technology to scope this place out before they infiltrate and rescue us. I even went out and found Barricade, and he's registered in the law enforcement system, so he'll be waiting to arrest those assholes that are holding us prisoner, and then he'll be nabbing Daniel McHugh for probable cause."

"And once the media gets wind of what he did in order to get his silly mine put in, nobody will want the mine," Aurora stated.

"I told you it was awesome."

"So, since Barricade is helping, does that mean Megatron is also helping? I mean, Starscream did come out," Aurora remarked.

Angelique laughed, "No, he's not helping at all. Barricade is helping as a personal favor to me. Starscream only proved he existed because he was curious and wanted to get out of the base. When I told Megatron I was helping, he punched me in the face."

"What are you, his bitch?" Joey questioned.

The girl felt herself blush, "I…hope not."

"I mean, you seriously _like_ this guy?" Joey persisted.

"I…do."

"Even though he hits you and controls you? Girl, you got another thing coming to you. He'll always be like that; you're never going to change him."

"She's gotten him to keep an alliance with the Autobots for over a month now. Optimus expects them to become mates," Aurora exclaimed in Angelique's defense.

"Say what?" both Joey and Angelique asked in unison.

"Um…"

"The Autobots and Decepticons are really at peace?" Joey asked.

"Yes, and it's going quite smoothly."

"Optimus really said that?" Angelique questioned.

"Yes," Aurora answered, "But don't tell anyone I told you that, and pretend you didn't hear it. You'll let it get to your head."

"Too late."

The older girl shook her head and asked, "Who all is coming to rescue us?"

"Probably just the Autobots," Angelique replied, "With the exception of Barricade."

"Any chance Starscream will make an appearance?" Joey asked.

"We shall see."

* * *

Optimus looked closely at the image Red Alert projected on the monitor via Google Maps. It was an aerial view of the address the tracking device had given when Angelique finally stopped moving. The building the captors were hiding in was an abandoned factory outside of town.

"Well," Red Alert said as he studied the image, "We won't have to worry about noise complaints from nearby people if we use flash bang grenades."

"What if our identity is compromised?" Jetfire asked.

"We will deal with that issue if it should come," Optimus replied, "At some point, our secret will be revealed. If this is the event that gives us away, then so be it."

"Shouldn't _I_ have a say in this?"

The Autobots turned to see Megatron enter their command center accompanied by Starscream and Thundercracker. "After all," Megatron continued, "Revealing our existence sounds like something that should be consulted between _both_ leaders."

"We don't have time, Megatron," Optimus said.

The Decepticon leader scowled, "If you reveal our existence, there will be consequences. It's bad enough I let you put my human in danger."

"_Your_ human?" Wing-Saber remarked sarcastically.

"Yes," Megatron hissed, "My human."

Optimus made as if he rolled his optics before he said, "It was her choice to go. Now, we don't have time to argue about this. You can either help us…or get out of our way."

He frowned, "You put my human in danger, you can get her out."

And to everyone's surprise, Starscream growled and turned to Megatron and said, "Would you get your head out of your aft already? I think I speak for everyone when I say you need to get over yourself and focus on the reality around you. I'm going to help the Autobots just because you're so damn boring!"

Megatron seethed, "You're lucky I can't rip that insignia right off your chest!"

"If it could come off, I would've taken it off long before now. It doesn't mean anything anymore."

The Decepticon leader glared at him before storming out of the Autobot command center. Thundercracker followed behind him, trying to calm him down. Once they were gone, Starscream looked to the Autobots and asked, "So…what's the plan?"

And the Autobots proceeded to explain to him how Jetfire and Wing-Saber were going to go to the factory the captors had taken up residence in to scope out the area. If the coast was clear, they would radio back to base and Optimus, Hotshot, and Override were going to come out while Red Alert and Syndrome readied the med bay. Lynk and Sky-Shadow were going to monitor what happened at the base.

Once everyone was at the factory, Barricade would arrive and do a patrol around the building. He would then start flashing his lights, giving the signal for the Autobots to infiltrate. Jetfire, Hotshot, and Override were to round up the villains with Barricade's help while Optimus and Wing-Saber rescued Aurora and Angelique. Optimus instructed Starscream to go with him and Wing-Saber as back up, just in case.

"Is everyone ready?" Optimus asked.

"Yes sir," the Autobots replied, while Starscream just nodded.

"Let's do this."

* * *

The girls kept talking late into the night, trying to restore hope and faith in one another that the Autobots were coming to get them. They were still talking when the door suddenly opened again and a light was turned on, causing the girls to groan.

"Rise and shine," said one of the captors as he came into the room, "You girlies have company."

"Is the boss coming?" Joey asked, fighting back a yawn.

"You bet he is," the captor replied, and Aurora recognized him as Cutthroat, "He can't wait to meet Aurora and Angelique. But, I don't know what he's going to do with you, Jo. He'll probably shoot you, just because you almost compromised our entire plan."

"Don't call me Jo," she hissed.

"Watch the attitude, sweetie." And he left the room.

Angelique tried to forget the fear she was feeling inside by asking, "So, Joey, what is your real name?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Nobody here is going to judge you. Is it…Josephine?"

"Not even close."

"Jolene?"

"No."

"Johanna?"

"Will you stop guessing? It's one of those unique names that parents feel they sometimes have to give their children, you're never going to guess it."

"Oh, so like, Pie or something?"

"My name isn't Pie."

"Knock it off guys, we have more important things to worry about," Aurora said, trying to make herself more comfortable.

Angelique swallowed hard, "I was trying not to think about our impending doom."

"We'll be fine. You said the Autobots are coming."

"Yeah, but God knows when."

The door opened suddenly and all the girls looked to the door as a man came in. Aurora recognized him immediately from pictures she had seen on TV. "Daniel McHugh," she said.

He smiled, "The one and only. I'm guessing you're not surprised to see me."

"Not in the least."

"Well, I hope you're scared," he remarked, revealing a gun in a holster on his belt.

Angelique glanced from the gun to Aurora and Joey. She felt extremely uneasy. If there was anyone that should be taking the bullets, it was her, because her body was metal. It would withstand a shot better than Aurora and Joey's human bodies could. But she was tied up, unable to get up from where she was sitting to deflect any bullets if she had to.

"I never wanted to go this far," Daniel McHugh said, "I offered your family money; I offered your family a new home, new land. But you still refused, and you created an uproar against the mine, something that would benefit this entire community."

"If the mine were in any other location, we wouldn't be opposed," Aurora replied.

"I didn't choose for the limestone to be located on your property."

"Well, our property isn't the only place where limestone is located."

"I'm not stupid, Aurora. The house you live in now isn't worth that much; the land you live on isn't that valuable to you. I've heard rumors in the community that your parents have wanted to move. It's rather funny that they're on vacation right now, and you and Angelique are so bitterly opposed to my mine."

"What are you insinuating?" Angelique asked.

"There's something you're hiding. I had you kidnapped not only to deter you from creating more opposition, but to find out exactly why you don't want the mine on your property. I'm sure whatever it is, it must be more valuable than the mine itself."

Aurora, Angelique, and Joey exclaimed nervous glances. Finally Aurora said, "I'm on the verge of turning 18, and Angelique will be 17 soon after. What could we, two teenage girls, on the precipice of adulthood, be hiding that would be worth more than the value of the mine?"

Daniel McHugh shrugged, "Teenagers are good at having secrets. Why don't you tell me and just make it easier for all of us? And don't feed me any of that crap about your property having sentimental value."

Joey leaned over and whispered to Aurora, "What happens when the transformers come to rescue us? Everything is blown then."

Aurora closed her eyes, this was worse than a nightmare. "You'll just do whatever it takes to get as much money as you can, for your own personal benefit, screw your talk about helping the community," Aurora said, "Even if it means killing a couple teenagers."

He laughed, "Yes, money is my sin; I'm a dirty politician, but what politician isn't nowadays? I will kill; I can clean up my messes. Nobody will ever know what I did. So start talking, your silence will get you nowhere. If you don't talk, I have ways of making you. And the night is young."

Nobody said anything, causing the chairman to growl impatiently. He pointed his gun at Aurora and said, "Somebody better start talking, or I'll blow her brains out."

Angelique saw the fear in her sister's eyes and tried to think. She didn't want to reveal the transformers, but she didn't want to lose her sister either. "Alright, alright!" Angelique said, "You want to know what we're hiding? I'll tell you if you put the gun away."

And just then the power went out.

"What the hell?" Daniel McHugh shouted. He fumbled his way over to the door where he opened it and yelled, "What is going on around here?"

"We're trying to figure that out, man," someone yelled back, "This place is so run down it's a surprise the lights haven't quit before now."

He growled, "Do you have a flashlight or anything?"

"Yeah, here you go boss," he said as he brought him a flashlight.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, which rattled the whole building. "What was _that_?" Daniel McHugh demanded just as another captor came running.

"There's a cop outside!" he said frantically.

"Damn it, quickly, get the prisoners and get the hell out of here."

That was when the last captor joined them, saying, "They have all the exits blocked off. We have to find a new way out, or stand against them."

Daniel McHugh turned on the flashlight he had. "You boys got guns?" he asked. He watched as each of the men took out a handgun. "Alright," he said, "You guys go get the cops out of here. I'll get the prisoners."

Cutthroat, Blade, and Gunner went to fight off who they thought were the cops. Daniel waited until they left before he shut the door and pointed his gun back at Aurora. "Alright Angelique, we don't have any time now. You have sixty seconds to start talking, or I'm going to shoot."

Aurora looked to Angelique through the darkness. Daniel McHugh was shining the flashlight at her, so she couldn't exactly see Angelique. "Don't say a word, Angelique," she remarked.

Angelique struggled futilely to free herself from the ropes that bound her arms and ankles. "Alright, you want to know why we don't want to leave? Our parents are highly classified scientists. They're not really in Florida right now, but doing secret research. They study robotics. In the basement of our home, they have a secret laboratory, with all sorts of invaluable gadgets and gizmos they've created," she lied.

Aurora fought back a smile, and instead groaned, "Angelique…you didn't have to tell."

"Yeah well, I don't want you to get shot."

Daniel McHugh didn't lower the gun and instead said, "I want proof."

"Well, you'd have to let us go in order for us to show you," Aurora said.

He shook his head, "With the cops outside, there's no way we can walk out. You have to prove it to me another way, or else. You're down to thirty seconds."

"Seriously dude? Give them a chance!" Joey remarked, only to earn a kick in the ribs. She grunted as she heard some of her ribs pop.

"I don't have time!" he yelled.

Angelique thought quickly, and closed her eyes as she admitted, "Don't shoot Aurora! It's me you want, I'm not human…I'm one of their creations."

"Let's see if that's true," Daniel McHugh said as he studied his gun before pointing it at Angelique.

"No, no wait!" Aurora shouted, but her plea was cut off by a loud bang of a gun firing. Her eyes dilated in horror and her insides felt suddenly cold, "Angelique!"

"I'm fine," Angelique breathed through clenched teeth. She was squeezing her eyes closed as she tried not to concentrate on the stinging, burning sensation that was smoldering through her chest. She knew her synthetic flesh had done nothing to deflect the bullet, she only hoped her internal circuitry was not too badly damaged.

Daniel McHugh came over and knelt beside the injured girl. He pushed her back against the wall an examined her lower chest, only to notice sparks coming out. "No shit…" he breathed, before yanking the girl to her feet and standing as well. He turned and aimed the gun at Aurora once again, "I have no use for either of you."

He fired, just as Optimus entered the room. However, nobody could look at the Autobots directly; they had bright lights on their armor, which kept human eyes off of them. Optimus was quick to assess what had just happened. His optics went wide in horror. "You didn't!" he seethed as he ripped the gun out of Daniel McHugh's hand and pushed him towards Jetfire, "Go put him with the others."

Jetfire complied as he led the mastermind away. The Autobot leader immediately went to Aurora's aid and freed her from the handcuffs that bound her to the pipe. "Aurora," he breathed as he cradled her in his arms, "Aurora, talk to me."

But she didn't respond. Panicked, Optimus quickly stood and said, "I have to get her to Red Alert stat, Wing-Saber, you're in charge."

"Yes sir," the Autobot replied and watched as the Autobot leader left with Aurora.

"I guess we can turn these off now," Starscream said as he shut off the lights that were on his armor, so that the only thing that illuminated the room were his optics.

Wing-Saber did the same as Joey remarked, "Starscream? You came too?"

Starscream couldn't help but smirk, "I see your fellow gang members weren't happy about your actions from earlier this afternoon."

Joey grinned, "Just get me out of here."

The Decepticon second in command went to her and broke the handcuffs around her wrists and ankles before he helped her to her feet. "Can you walk?" he asked.

"Yeah I think so," she said.

"Does anything hurt?"

"Just my ribs."

"Well, I guess I'll take you to Red Alert to get you checked out," Starscream said as he helped Joey out of the room.

Wing-Saber couldn't help but smile as he took Angelique in his arms and said, "Well princess, it looks like it's only you and me."

"Just…get these ropes off me," she remarked. She was in too much pain to try and free herself from his grasp.

"You okay?" the Autobot asked as he untied the ropes from around her wrists and ankles, "You sound like you're in a lot of pain."

"I'm…fine," she lied, "Just get me to the med bay…I need to make sure Aurora's okay."

"Alright," he said as he took her by the hand and started leading her out of the factory.

* * *

Megatron growled as he sat alone in his throne. He had dismissed the other Decepticons for the night, but he was too angry to go back to his quarters to try and get some recharge. Mostly, he wanted to rip Starscream apart not only for defying him in front of the Autobots, but also for making a fool of him in front of the Autobots. He tried to forget his anger, knowing he had all the time in the world to deal with Starscream. It wasn't the first time he and Starscream had had a spat like that, and surely it wouldn't be the last. Megatron only wished that was the only thing bothering him. No, instead his CPU was riddled with thoughts about someone else as well, and his spark was plagued with a worry so strong it was nearly making him sick. He growled.

"Curse you Angelique…"

He hated this inner turmoil that she made him suffer through. He didn't want to worry, if she was fool enough to get hurt, then so be it. But, even as leader of the Decepticons, he didn't want to feel that way. He knew he was allowed to be worried, Angelique was a Decepticon, he was supposed to worry about his subordinates, but even he knew that the worry he was experiencing now was…different. Usually when he was worried, it concerned the welfare of the Decepticons or how they were doing in the war. This time though…he was worried that something would happen to her…

Megatron slammed his fist down on the arm of his throne. "Damn it!" he yelled, "I've let myself go soft…" But he stopped short of admitting he had feelings for Angelique. He knew he did, he absolutely knew it, but to say it out loud. He was such a coward. He scowled.

He shouldn't have let Angelique go. He should've made her stay. He should've _begged_. He could've lied. When he went to her earlier, he should've made her believe he liked her. All it would've taken were a few well placed kisses, mumbling the right words; he could've made her stay. But he didn't…he let her go. And he wanted her to come back, so badly.

He didn't want to remember her as the one who got away.

He offlined his optics, sighing heavily. He knew he couldn't end this; he had made Angelique the very object of his affections. He had tried to drive her away, but each time she had come back. And he was grateful for her. If she came back, which he was praying, he wouldn't tell her how he felt. He would only hurt her and he knew that he had already made her suffer enough for no reason at all.

"Starscream to Megatron."

He felt anger prickle at his sensors when he heard his second in command's voice come through the com. Irritably he answered, "What could you possibly have to say to me?"

"Everybody's back now and the captors have been arrested—

"How is Angelique?" and he regretted asking so eagerly.

"Injured, but she won't let anyone assess where she is injured let alone how severely, not until her sister is treated."

"I take it you're in the med bay."

"Yes sir."

"I'll be there soon." And he ended the transmission.

* * *

Aurora tried to forget how to breathe, because every breath she took felt like it would be her last. Somewhere, on the way back to the med bay, she had managed to regain consciousness. And the pain of being awake was unbelievable. She saw Red Alert and Optimus above her, and the looks on their faces terrified her. She could hear her sister in the background, yelling at Syndrome about something. She couldn't focus. Everything was happening; she just looked and listened without understanding.

"Stop treating me," she choked, "Angelique was shot too…"

"Syndrome is treating her," Red Alert responded flatly, "You were shot too."

Aurora tried to look down to see where, but Optimus held her where she was. "Don't move, love," he breathed.

She saw blood on his hands, on his torso, and she felt suddenly sick to her stomach. "I'm going to be sick," she breathed.

"Don't be sick," Optimus said, "You can't move, you have to stay here."

"You're covered in…" she couldn't finish.

Optimus glanced himself over and saw that he was covered in her blood and sighed heavily, "I'd clean myself off, but I don't want to leave your side."

"Am I...dying?"

Optimus exchanged uneasy glances with his medic before he looked back to Aurora and said, "Just stay calm. You're going to be fine—

"Don't lie to me Optimus!"

He cupped her face in his hands and pressed his forehead against hers. "You were shot in the chest, you've lost a lot of blood, and the bullet pierced one of your major arteries…you shouldn't even be awake right now. Just don't worry…please, just look at me."

Her eyes filled with tears, "Optimus…"

"Please don't leave me…" he breathed as his optics filled with tears.

"Optimus sir, there is nothing more I can do…" Red Alert said quietly.

"Tell him there has to be," Aurora said, feeling dizzy.

The Autobot leader offlined his optics and grimaced. Aurora clung to him, for dear life. "Optimus," she cried softly, "Don't think of me as a coward, but I'm begging for my life…I don't want to die…"

"I'm right here," he breathed, "I love you."

Red Alert quietly pulled a curtain, entailing them their privacy as he walked away to help Syndrome. A few recharge berths away, Syndrome was trying to get Angelique to lie down so that she could assess her injuries, but despite Wing-Saber and Starscream trying to hold her down, Angelique would not stay down. She froze, however, when she saw Red Alert coming towards them. Not trusting the somber look on his face, she asked, "Is Aurora okay?"

Before he could answer though, Megatron walked into the med bay. Syndrome took one look at him and remarked, "Oh good, maybe you can make her calm down."

Angelique glanced over and saw Megatron and then looked back to Red Alert, "Answer my question."

"I'm afraid…she's not going to make it."

"What? Damn it, let me go!" Angelique exclaimed as she pulled herself free from Wing-Saber and Starscream's grasps.

Red Alert quickly blocked her path though as he said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're not going back there."

"What do you mean? She's my sister!"

"Optimus is with her, that's enough. You don't need to be back there."

Angelique glanced over as Megatron came up beside her. She ignored him as she turned her gaze back to Red Alert and growled, "_Fuck _ you! I know how to save her life, get out of my fucking way!"

"And what could you possibly do that I couldn't?" Red Alert remarked angrily.

"Use my brain…"

"Go ahead Angelique, I'll hold him off," Megatron said.

Angelique hurried over to her sister and disappeared behind the curtain. She saw Optimus holding her sister, and she felt her heart break. Optimus glanced over at her, but he didn't say anything. Angelique swallowed hard, trying not to look at the blood because she knew that would make her sick. Instead she said, "Optimus, I don't know if you're capable of doing this, but can you give Aurora Autobot programming? Megatron's Decepticon programming saved my life by reacting with my DNA…it also healed all my injuries."

"I never thought I'd say this," Aurora breathed weakly, "But you're a genius Angelique."

Optimus didn't hesitate and his fist immediately started glowing red. He warned Aurora that it might hurt a bit as he placed his hand against her bleeding chest. Aurora didn't scream, the pain of the gunshot wound was much greater. After a few moments, the whole process finished. After a few long minutes, Aurora's heart rate began to stabilize. Aurora rested lazily as she asked, "What symptoms should I experience?" she asked.

"Well, I threw up all my organic intestines and everything, so you're probably going to do that at some point, so we'll have to be ready to get you to a bathroom. And, remember how my skin came off?"

"Oh yeah…that'll be fun."

Angelique proceeded to sit down on the floor, saying, "It hurts too much to stand up." She then proceeded to clutch her chest where she had been shot. She pulled her hand away only to see it was covered in oil and mech fluids. "Oh damn…" she breathed as she tried to ignore the warnings that were flashing across her CPU. She looked up only to catch the gazes of both Optimus and Aurora.

"Red Alert!" Optimus called.

"No!" Angelique stated while wincing, "Don't call him, I'm fine…"

Red Alert appeared almost instantly and took one look at Angelique. He growled under his breath before pulling her to her feet and dragging her out from behind the curtain. He set her on a recharge berth before he said, "Just _what_ are the nature of your injuries?"

"I'm fine," she grumbled.

"Aurora said you were shot."

Megatron growled, "Shot?"

Angelique glanced warily at him, "I'm…not bullet proof like I thought I was." She leaned back against the recharge berth and pressed her clean hand against where the bullet had entered her body. She pulled it back, only to see her blood had stained that hand as well, "Ugh…that's so gross."

"Remove your shirt and bra," Red Alert said as he gathered some of his tools.

Angelique's eyes widened in surprise. "B-But…Megatron is in here…" she remarked and she glanced over, "And so are Wing-Saber and Starscream…and Joey and Syndrome, they're both females…but still…"

Red Alert looked to Starscream and Wing-Saber, "You guys get out of here."

"Come on," Wing-Saber remarked, disappointed, but he left the med bay.

"I'm up for a new scene," Joey stated as she headed for the door. Starscream followed her out.

"What about…Megatron?" Angelique asked slowly as the Decepticon leader came up to the recharge berth she was lying on.

"He's going to hold you down while I repair your injury. I could sedate you, but after the way you acted earlier…this is much more suitable."

"This is a total infringement upon my rights!" Angelique exclaimed, but Megatron was grinning. She glared at him, "Don't think I'm going to let you get away with getting a free show, either."

"Well, if you don't hurry up and remove your shirt, I'll do it for you," the Decepticon leader said.

Reluctantly, Angelique removed her shirt, but she left her bra on. To her dismay, the gunshot wound was directly below her right breast, so her bra would have to be removed in order to have the wound repaired. Red Alert came over with his tools and Angelique sighed heavily, "Can I at least hold my own boobs out of the way?"

Megatron snickered as Red Alert said, "I don't know how you will if Megatron's going to have you restrained. Take your bra off."

"This is so damn embarrassing," Angelique remarked as she slowly took her bra off. She made sure to avoid both Red Alert's and Megatron's gazes.

As Red Alert repaired her, Megatron held her steady, to keep her from squirming and to keep her from knocking Red Alert out. About an hour later, after he finished, Angelique quickly put her clothes back on. Megatron looked to her before he asked, "Well, since it's almost morning, and neither of us have recharged, would you like to come back to my quarters with me?"

She couldn't hide a smile. She knew Aurora was going to be okay, now that she was a gynoid as well. "Just as long as I can keep my shirt on," she said.

"Maybe…" Megatron grinned as he led her out of the med bay. He took her hand as he walked with her to his quarters, stunning Angelique right down to the core.

"Megatron…what's gotten into you?"

"Let's pretend that I love you…"

She smirked as she leaned against him. He wrapped his arm around her as she said, "You don't have to pretend you know."

"For now, I think it would be the best thing."

"Why did you come to the med bay?" she asked.

"Starscream said you were back…I had…missed you."

She blushed as she felt her heart flutter inside her chest, "That's very sweet of you."

"_Don't_ remind me."

"You don't have to be afraid of how you feel," she said, "Just know its okay."

He knew he shouldn't hold back the words that needed to come from his spark, but he did anyway. She was unraveling the very layers of his soul, and while it terrified him, he also found peace with it. It was nice to know someone finally understood him.

When they got to his quarters, he walked inside with her. He stopped as the door closed and watched her take a few steps towards his recharge berth before he pulled her into his arms and held her against him, tightly. She looked up at him, hoping he couldn't feel her heart pounding in her chest. "Promise you won't ever leave me again," he said.

"I promise I will stay," she replied.

"Prove it."

Angelique wasn't sure how, but her heart seemed to know. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. Megatron didn't protest as he leaned down to give her a better angle. He tried to ignore the feeling of his spark swelling inside of him and the wondrous taste of her lips. He held her closer, loving how she felt against him. He knew her body was made for his. She was so tantalizing, so perfect…

He was beginning to wonder why he was resisting…

Megatron ended the kiss, sooner than what he wanted to, but he knew Angelique was tired. He walked with her over to his berth where they both laid down. He held her tightly as she fell asleep…but try as he might, Megatron just couldn't fall asleep. He was too happy; his spark was too full of an emotion that had him smiling like a moron.

For the first time, reality seemed so much better than dreams…

* * *

Next chapter, I'm bringing funny back. I promise. Please review! I'll give you cookies, and milk!


	24. Pranksters of Fortress Maximus

Sorry it took so long for me to update this story. I started writing this chapter, only to hate it, start writing it again, hate it again, and went back to what I had originally started. So, after going full circle, here is the next update finally.

* * *

**Chapter 24: Pranksters of Fortress Maximus**

It seemed like Megatron had just let his optics go offline so that he could recharge when a sudden, startling, and rather unpleasant series of vibrations started pulsating against his leg. He let his optics come online as he tried to figure out what was going on. He felt his leg…nothing. He then reached across and felt up Angelique's thigh, slowly, and he couldn't stop himself from grinning devilishly as he did so. His hand stopped over her hip where her pocket was. It was also quite clear that the vibrations were coming from there as well. That's when it dawned on him and he groaned.

"Angelique," he groaned displeased. He proceeded to gently shake her before saying, "Wake up."

"Megatron? What's going on?" she asked tiredly as she woke up.

"That cursed piece of machinery you call a cellular phone is alive in your pocket," he said.

"What?" she remarked, confused. That's when she felt her phone vibrating and exclaimed, "Oh! I'm getting a phone call."

He grumbled as he rolled over, away from her.

Angelique ignored him as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and answered it. She didn't bother to look at the caller ID before saying, "Hello? Daddy!"

"You still call your father daddy?" Megatron mumbled.

"No, Aurora and I are alright. I guess it's not surprising you heard about what happened to us. Is it on the news? Oh…well, yes dad, we're fine, I can assure you. You are? When will you be home? Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow then. Tell mom I said hi! Okay, bye dad!" And she hung up before glancing over at the Decepticon leader.

"I take it your parents are coming home," he said.

"Yeah, they'll be home tomorrow sometime," she answered before crawling out of the berth.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go take a shower."

"You can shower here you know."

"You're not afraid of me getting my disgusting germs all over the place?" she asked, mockingly.

He smirked, "No. Perhaps you'd let me join you."

Angelique felt a twinge between her legs and a stab of fear and elation strike her soul. Most of all, she was shocked. "Are you…being serious?" she managed to ask.

"Completely."

"I…don't know if that's a good idea. I mean, I'm not even legal…if anyone found out you did anything with me you'd be hit with a statutory rape charge, and those carry a hefty punishment."

"You're not human anymore, what does age matter?"

"Well…that's true…" she mused, "But, we're not even official."

He raised an optic ridge as he sat up, "Official?"

"Officially, um…" she blushed as she looked to the floor, "A couple."

He made as if he rolled his optics, "Do I _really_ have to ask you to be my girlfriend?"

Angelique blushed profusely, "Well…it'd be nice."

"And let me guess, you want me to be romantic about it?"

"That would be nice too…"

"I am _not_ romantic."

"Well then, as lovely as this conversation was—

"But I suppose I could think of something."

—I'm going to go shower now…wait, what did you say?" Angelique asked, surprised.

Megatron grinned as he laid back down, "Just go shower."

"No, I heard what you said."

"I'll only discuss it further in the shower."

"Ugh, forget it!" she said as she left the room.

Megatron laughed before he rolled over and finally fell asleep.

* * *

After showering and changing her clothes, Angelique went to the med bay to see how her sister was doing. When she entered, she wasn't surprised to see Optimus at her sister's bedside. In fact, seeing how much he cared about her brought a smile to her face. And she wasn't surprised to see that they were already awake and chatting amongst themselves. When she came in though, they both looked over at her.

"So," Angelique said as she walked over to them, "Is your transformation complete?"

Aurora nodded, "Yes. Once again, we're one in the same."

"Woot, blood sisters again!" Angelique exclaimed, "When do you get to bust out of this joint?"

"Soon," she answered, "What have you been up to?"

"I've been dealing with a horny Megatron all morning."

Aurora felt her eye twitch, "I hope you're still a virgin."

"For now, yes."

"Well, as interesting as this conversation is," Optimus mused, "Perhaps we could move onto a new one? Megatron being horny does not really appeal to me."

"You sure about that?" Angelique snickered.

"Don't even go there," the Autobot leader replied.

"Yeah, we all know it's Megatron that secretly yearns for Optimus anyways," Aurora said, grinning.

Angelique frowned, "Not funny."

But Optimus laughed anyway, "I don't want to know."

"You guys are so mean! You're supposed to be Autobots," the younger sister exclaimed.

Optimus shrugged, "How come you came by here anyway?"

Angelique glared at him before saying, "To see how _my_ sister was doing. And to let her know that mom and dad are on their way home. They're going to be here sometime tomorrow."

"They're coming home?" Aurora asked.

"Yes, they heard about how we were kidnapped on the news. They think they've been away long enough."

"Well, this complicates things."

"How come?" Optimus asked.

"No more secret sleepovers," Angelique said, "And they'll notice that we don't eat anymore or go to the bathroom."

Optimus didn't say anything and Aurora knew he was thinking about something. The elder sibling looked to Angelique and remarked, "We'll have to deal with this as it comes, but until then, we'll have to enjoy the freedom while we still have it."

Angelique got a mischievous look on her face before agreeing, "Ah…yessss."

"I don't know if I should trust you because of the look on your face…or because you said that like Megatron would when he's scheming," Aurora commented.

"You can trust me!" Angelique stated before she quickly darted out of the med bay.

Aurora and Optimus exchanged glances before the Autobot leader remarked, "She's definitely up to something."

"Well, I guess it's only a matter of time until we find out what," Aurora said.

Optimus nodded before saying, "I think I'm going to go get cleaned up and get a few hours of recharge. Will you be alright by yourself?"

She smiled, "I think so. Thanks for everything Optimus, especially for saving my life."

He kissed her lightly before replying, "You know I'd do anything for you, love."

Aurora couldn't stop the blush that burned onto her face. "Optimus," was all she could say, but that was enough for him.

"I'll see you later," he said before he got up and left the med bay.

Aurora couldn't help but sigh and exclaim, "Oh man, I sure found a keeper."

* * *

After wandering around the base for several minutes in a hopeless search for Joey, Angelique really began to wish she had the former gang member's cellphone number so that she could either text or call her to find out where she was. Sighing heavily, she was just about to give up when she rounded a corner and crashed into none other than Joey. Both of the girls stepped back a bit, startled by what had just happened. However, Angelique was able to recover the fastest and remarked, "Joey! I've been looking all over for you!"

"I was wondering if you or your sister was up and about," Joey stated, "What's up?"

"Well, my parents are coming home tomorrow so this is kind of the last day we have to enjoy our freedom of ruling the roost," Angelique explained.

"Ah, you want to have a party?"

"Kind of…you see, I know this is a horribly stereotypical thing for me to say, but since you were in a gang, can you do graffiti?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, I want to pull a prank on Optimus…"

Joey grinned, "I'm all ears."

"Okay, he insulted Megs this morning, and I don't want to let him get away with it, so I was wondering if you could paint something…obscene on his back?"

Joey laughed, "I have just the thing in mind. The only thing is, I would need to catch Optimus while he was sleeping, without Aurora."

"Do you have spray paint?"

"Of course, gang members always have access to spray paint."

"Well then, if I can get Optimus alone while he's sleeping, you'll do it?"

"Yes. I don't like Optimus much."

"Good! Someone who is finally on my side!"

"But I don't like Megatron much either."

Angelique hung her head momentarily before she said, "Well, just give me your cell number so I can text you if I find him."

Joey gave it to her and Angelique saved it in her phone before she said, "Alrighty, I'll catch you later Joey."

"I'll try to stay out of trouble until then, but I can't guarantee that."

"Well, we'll do something after we pull this prank on Optimus, sound good?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do," Angelique said before she wandered off.

When she was out of sight, Joey glanced behind her and said, "Okay Starscream, you can come out now."

Starscream stepped out from the shadows, a smirk on his face, "It's kind of funny that she would be asking us to pull a prank on Optimus."

"Yeah, especially when we were on our way to prank ol' Megsie."

"Come on," Starscream said, pulling her forward, "Megatron won't stay asleep forever, and we never know when Angelique will try to contact you."

"Right," Joey said as she fell in step with him.

When they arrived at Megatron's quarters, they quietly went in, hoping he was not awake. To their delight and relief, he was deep in recharge. Starscream had to bite back his laughter as he quietly asked, "You got the paint?"

"You bet," Joey whispered back as she handed him a can of bright pink spray paint.

Starscream proceeded to carefully scrawl out a message on the Decepticon leader's back before giving the can of pink spray paint back to his partner in crime. Joey snickered quietly before exclaiming, "If Megatron ever finds out we did this, he'll kill us."

"Ah but it's so worth it," Starscream murmured back, "Come on, let's get out of here before he wakes up."

They had just left Megatron's quarters when suddenly Joey's phone vibrated loudly in her pocket. She pulled it out only to see she had gotten a text from Angelique that said, "Optimus is asleep in his quarters, alone. Work your magic darling."

Joey grinned, which prompted Starscream to ask, "What's going on?"

"Come on, our pranks aren't done," Joey said, "It's Optimus' turn now."

And they went off to Optimus' room.

* * *

It was later that afternoon that Aurora was released from the med bay. She knew Optimus might still be sleeping, and since she didn't want to disturb him, she went off to find Angelique. The first place she went was the hangout, and she was right to go there first. However, she was shocked to see what her sister had done. She had constructed a rather large fort using the various pieces of furniture in the room, blankets, pillows, and cushions. From the fort, there was a splendid view of the television and the hot tub was a fine centerpiece.

Aurora merely shook her head, seeing that her sister was wearing her bikini and reading her book that was due by the end of summer break. She sighed before she asked, "Angelique, why did you do this?"

"To feel cool, it took a while to build this perfectly awesome fortress, so, I'm not taking it down anytime soon."

"What'd you name the fort?"

Angelique grinned, "The Death Star."

Aurora shook her head, "Fortress Maximus would be so much more appropriate."

"…Yeah that does sound better. Fortress Maximus it is then."

"May I enter?"

"What's the password?"

Aurora frowned and pursed her lips to the side before saying, "Megatron."

"You may enter."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Megatron finally emerged from his quarters. He was going to check on his troops to make sure they were behaving, but before he could get to the throne room of his base, Thundercracker passed by him in the hallway when he suddenly burst out laughing. Confused, Megatron looked to him and asked, "What's so funny, Thundercracker?"

"Oh…um, n-nothing sir," he managed to say as he tried to quell his laughter.

Megatron grumbled before he turned and headed back to the throne room. Once he was out of earshot, Thundercracker let loose his laughter. He never knew six words could be so funny.

Once Megatron got to the throne room, he hadn't so much as turned his back when he heard Ransack and Crumplezone, who were behind him, start chuckling. Growing evermore irritated, Megatron turned to them so that his back was to Thunderblast and demanded, "Is something wrong?"

"Nah, boss man," Ransack remarked, but that was when Thunderblast burst out laughing.

The Decepticon leader growled as he turned to her, "You too?"

"Sir, you got the funniest prank ever pulled on you," Thunderblast said.

"What?" he remarked, "What are you talking about?"

"Maybe you should go look in a mirror at your back…"

Megatron didn't have to be told twice as he opened a dimension gate and went immediately back to his quarters. He went over to a fully body mirror he had and hesitantly turned so that he could see his back. What he saw made his optics go wide and one name immediately came to mind.

"Angelique!" he shouted before he tore out of his quarters in search of her.

* * *

"What's going on in here?" Joey remarked as she stepped into the hangout, Starscream beside her.

"Looks like a tornado went through here," the Decepticon second in command remarked.

Angelique saw them and grinned, "Do you like my fort?"

"Who all is in there with you?" Joey asked.

"It's just Aurora and me at the moment."

"Can we join you?"

"What's the password?"

Starscream smirked, "Megatron."

Angelique frowned, "Is it really that obvious? You guys can come in."

* * *

Optimus had been up for a little while now and he was in search of Aurora since she had been released from the med bay. He was walking towards the hangout when he heard Wing-Saber, Jetfire, and Hotshot come up behind him.

"Whoa," he heard Hotshot say, "Get a look at that."

"Oh hot damn," Wing-Saber replied, "Keep him busy guys while I go get a camera." And he quickly ran off.

Confused, Optimus turned to face them before he asked, "What's going on?"

"Oh nothing," Jetfire remarked as he tried hard not to laugh, "Wing-Saber just really admires your backside is all."

"…What?"

Hotshot grinned, "Well, who wouldn't?"

Optimus glanced between them, trying to figure out just what was going on. He knew that Hotshot, Wing-Saber, and Jetfire were not gay…but they had never commented on his personal features like this before. Before he could think of a response, Wing-Saber returned with a camera and snapped a picture of Optimus' back before the Autobot leader could do anything. After the picture was taken, Jetfire and Hotshot quickly gathered around to see how the picture had come out.

"Oh heck yeah," Wing-Saber remarked, "Optimus, you've got the sexiest paint job ever."

Optimus had enough as he walked over and stole the camera from Wing-Saber to see the picture. What he saw almost put him in stasis. And there could only be one culprit, because Aurora would never do such a thing.

"Angelique!" he shouted as he crushed the camera in his hand before heading back towards the hangout.

"Oh…damn…" Wing-Saber remarked as he picked up the broken pieces of the camera.

"Don't worry, we can probably get a still shot from one of the security cameras," Hotshot said.

"Oh yeah! Let's go!"

* * *

Aurora, Starscream, Joey, and Angelique were in the process of gossiping their lives away when Megatron suddenly burst into the room, clearly pissed off. However, his pissed off look was momentarily replaced with confusion as he took in the fort that had been built in the hangout. His anger quickly returned as he demanded, "Where is she?"

Joey and Starscream bit back their laughter as Aurora asked, "Who?"

"Angelique!" he roared, causing the elder sibling to cringe.

Angelique reluctantly emerged from the fort, forgetting that she was wearing a bikini. However, Megatron was too enraged to notice as he sauntered over to her and demanded, "Just what is the meaning of this?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, confused, "Why are you so mad at me? I didn't do anything…"

"Care to explain this?" he remarked as he turned around, showcasing his back to the entire room. He growled as Aurora, Joey, and Starscream burst out in laughter.

Even Angelique couldn't hold back her snickers as she read the message burned in bright pink on Megatron's backside: _I like it up the pooper._

Angelique turned to Joey and Starscream, and said, "I didn't ask you to prank him."

Joey grinned sheepishly, "Well, Starscream and I were originally on our way to prank him when you asked us to pull that one prank…"

"_You_ did this?" Megatron demanded, looking to his second in command and Joey.

"Easy killer," Joey said, "It washes off."

"Ah, shucks," Aurora remarked.

Megatron growled before he looked back to Angelique, but that was when he noticed she was wearing a bikini. "Whoa," he said.

Angelique looked up at him surprised, "You just said whoa…"

"How long have you been wearing that?"

"…For the majority of the afternoon."

He smirked before leaning down and whispering in her ear, "Perhaps…you'll help me get cleaned off?"

"Are you _that_ desperate to see me naked?" Angelique remarked, loudly, "Wasn't seeing my boobs good enough for you last night?"

"There is a difference between seeing them and enjoying them. And besides…if I were _that_ desperate to see you naked, you'd of been stripped of your bikini already."

"Well damn," Joey said, "Keep it PG-13, okay?"

"He saw your boobs?" Aurora asked.

"Red Alert let him, too!" Angelique pouted, causing Megatron to grin.

However, before Aurora could reply, Optimus burst into the hangout, clearly upset. He beheld the mess of the fort before he looked to Angelique and said, "I want an explanation, Angelique."

Angelique grinned, "Turn around! I want to see the pretty picture first."

"No, not with Megatron in here."

"Oh, it's quite alright, Prime," Megatron said as he turned and showed the Autobot leader his back, "They got me too."

After seeing the message scrawled out on Megatron's back, Optimus slowly turned and showcased what had been done to his backside. Joey and Starscream were all smiles as Angelique and Megatron let loose their laughter. It was Aurora's jaw that dropped in shock.

"Joey I love you!" Angelique exclaimed through fits of laughter.

"You did ask for something obscene," Joey said, crossing her arms smugly, "I'm proud of it."

"Yeah, but painting a naked woman on Optimus' back is priceless. Her boobs are even bigger than mine."

Optimus growled as he turned back to them, "May I ask why you felt the need to do this to me?"

"Well, you and Aurora were making fun of Megsie, and I wasn't going to have it," Angelique said.

"Don't call me that," the Decepticon leader remarked.

"Well, it could've been worse," Aurora stated, "They could've painted you pink or something."

"I guess," Optimus said, "What's up with the mess in here?"

Angelique grinned, "It's the fort I built. You can come in if you want, but you have to know the password."

"Let me guess, is it Megatron?"

She scowled, "Is it _really_ that obvious?"

"I say we go get cleaned up and bring the fort down, what do you think, Optimus?" Megatron asked.

"Sounds like a plan."

And the two leaders left to clean the paint off themselves. When they returned, they were granted access to the fort. For the rest of the afternoon they talked and swapped stories. Eventually, Joey, Aurora, Angelique, and Starscream wandered over to the bowling lanes and got a game started up. Optimus and Megatron sat by and watched from a distance, and as the group progressed through the frames, the Autobot leader couldn't help but notice Megatron's intense yet admiring gaze locked on Angelique. He glanced between them for a moment before he looked to Angelique and quietly asked the Decepticon leader, "Do you like her?"

Megatron seemed to be caught off guard by the question as he snapped his gaze from Angelique to look at the Autobot leader, only to see he was gesturing towards Angelique. He looked back towards the gynoid, unsure of how to answer Optimus. He had _never_ shared his personal feelings with his greatest enemy…but even then, they weren't enemies anymore. They were at peace.

They could set their past differences aside, they could be friends…but Megatron knew they would never be friends until he found the courage to open up. He sighed heavily. What did it matter? He had nothing to lose anymore.

"No," he finally answered.

Optimus looked to him, surprised that he would say that. "No?" he repeated.

"I'm crazy about that girl."

Optimus couldn't hide a smile as he asked, "Have you told her how you felt?"

Megatron shook his head, "I haven't told anyone. I haven't ever felt this way about anyone…I don't even know where the feeling came from. It wasn't always there."

"Well, maybe you should tell her, and soon."

"I…am afraid of hurting her," he slowly admitted, "After all, I am still Megatron, I am still mean and ruthless and bitter. She doesn't know she doesn't need me."

"Megatron…" Optimus began, thinking of how he wanted say what the Decepticon leader needed to hear, "When it comes to love, you have to be brave. Love is a weakness, but it's the greatest weakness you'll ever have. And I think Angelique accepts you for who you are, meanness, ruthlessness, bitterness and all. She's never walked away or given up on you, even after what you've done to her."

"That's what I don't understand…why does she keep coming back when I hurt her time after time?"

"She sees inside of you. She can see past everything that defines you and into your spark…who you really are," Optimus said, but Megatron was silent. After a bit, Optimus remarked, "Megatron, let her be the goodness in you. Let her be everything you couldn't." He watched as the Decepticon leader's gaze shifted back to Angelique.

He sighed, "I never thought I'd be coming to you for advice."

The Autobot leader smiled softly, "Just tell her how you feel; you'll be much happier once you do."

Megatron was quiet for a moment before he confessed with a smile, "She told me to be romantic about it, if I ever did confess anything to her."

"So, sweep her off her feet. I'm sure you're capable of coming up with something romantic."

"Well, discussion of romance and relationships aside, perhaps we should prank Joey and Starscream back for causing us so much grief," Megatron suggested.

Optimus thought about that for a moment, "You know, that's not a bad idea."

"Any ideas as to what we could do?"

"I think we'll have to consult with Angelique, this seems to be her department."

And, as if on cue, Aurora and Angelique came over to them while Joey and Starscream stayed behind. Optimus smiled once he saw Aurora and motioned for her to come to him, which she did, and he set her on his lap before wrapping his arms around her. Both Angelique and Megatron observed them momentarily before they looked to each other.

"Have you guys been behaving?" Aurora asked.

"Yes," Optimus answered with a sly smile, "Angelique, we want your advice on something."

"Um…okay."

"We want to get Joey and Starscream back, any suggestions as to how?"

And the younger girl grinned wickedly, "I think it would be funny if you did something to Starscream so that whenever he moved the song Barbie Girl by Aqua played."

Aurora snickered, "Oh yes, we all know Starscream's a Barbie girl."

"How's the song go?" Megatron asked.

Angelique looked to Aurora before asking, "Do you have your phone on you?"

Aurora took it out and handed it to her sister. Angelique then proceeded to press a few buttons before the chorus of the song played loudly enough for Megatron and Optimus to hear.

_I'm a Barbie girl in a Barbie world  
Life in plastic, it's fantastic  
You can brush my hair  
Undress me anywhere  
Imagination, life is your creation_

Both Optimus and Megatron were sniggering as the Decepticon leader exclaimed, "Poor Starscream doesn't have a clue as to what he's gotten himself into, does he?"

"You said the exact same line in Armada right before Starscream betrayed the Decepticons," Angelique mused.

"Armada…what?"

"Uh…I'll show you another day," she replied.

"What about Joey?" Aurora asked.

Angelique shook her head, "I don't think we should mess with her. She's a former gang member; we don't know what she's capable of. I'm still trying to figure out what her real name is…"

"Well, we know from your guesses last night that it's not Josephine, Jolene, Johanna, or Pie."

Megatron raised an optic ridge, "You really guessed Pie?"

Angelique grinned, "She said it was a different name. Pie is different."

"Well, we'll just prank Starscream then," Optimus said.

"When and how?" Aurora asked.

"Let's have a sleepover!" Angelique suggested, "All of us, that way we can get him during the night and be there when he wakes up."

"Where would we sleep?" Megatron wondered.

"The fort has 'bedrooms'," Angelique said, "Though it only has three…"

"That's fine," Optimus remarked, "I'll stay with Aurora."

"Well Megs," Angelique stated, "You can either sleep with me or Starscream."

"Why would I _ever_ share a berth with _him_?" Megatron demanded.

"There are rumors floating around on the internet that you two have something going on together…"

"I don't even want to know."

As the evening dragged on, the group contented themselves by watching a movie. When the movie was over that's when Joey and Starscream decided to go to bed. Optimus, Megatron, Angelique, and Aurora remained awake though, talking quietly, and after an hour the two leaders snuck inside Joey and Starscream's "bedroom" to initiate the prank. All it took was downloading the song and crossing a few wires. The moment Starscream woke up, he would be in for a surprise.

After the prank was done, Aurora and Optimus decided to go to bed, but Optimus knew they wouldn't fall asleep for a little while. He planned to talk with her a bit about what Megatron had told him earlier. And, he wanted to leave Megatron alone with Angelique for a bit, in hopes that he would finally confess his feelings.

Megatron and Angelique exchanged glances for a moment before she got up. "Where are you going?" the Decepticon leader asked.

"I'm going to take a dip in the hot tub, I've been wearing this bikini all afternoon, mine as well put it to use," she replied and then added with a smirk, "Care to join me? It's the closest you're going to get to showering with me for now."

Megatron didn't say anything as he followed her over to the hot tub. He watched as she stepped inside before he followed her in. "I don't see what's so entertaining about these things," he admitted as he sat across from her.

"They're supposed to be relaxing…and to some people, they're great places to have…well, sex."

The Decepticon leader smirked before he noticed something on the edge of the tub. "What do these buttons do?" he asked as he pressed one, and lights came on inside the tub, illuminating the area around them with a soft glow. He quickly noticed how he accidentally set the mood and pressed another button, only to turn the jets on and the water began to bubble gently.

"Well…" Angelique mused, "It just got a little warmer in here."

Done pressing buttons, Megatron leaned back in the hot tub saying, "Showers are so much more…interesting than this."

"At least in here I can keep my clothes on."

"You technically don't have to. Nobody is going to see, well, except for me."

"No."

"Why? I've seen you naked before."

"You made the suggestion earlier that you want to go a lot farther than just _seeing_."

He sighed heavily before saying, "Just…come here."

Hesitantly, Angelique scooted over so that she was sitting beside him. He looked her over for a moment before he pulled her onto his lap and held her tightly against him, his arms wrapped securely around her. "You know," he breathed in her ear, "I don't want to hurt you anymore…I want you to trust me."

"I do trust you," she replied, quietly.

"There's…a lot I need to tell you, not now, but soon. It'll change things, whether it'll be good or bad I don't know, I just need to know you'll trust me enough to hear it and accept it."

"Whatever it is," she mumbled, "It's not going to change what you mean to me…nothing ever will."

Megatron felt his spark swell inside his chest. He was quiet a few moments before he asked, "Since your parents are coming home tomorrow, does that mean this is our last night of being together like this?"

"I…honestly don't know."

"Well then, perhaps we should make tonight one neither of us will ever forget."

"How so?" she asked as she readjusted the way she was sitting so that she was facing him, straddling her legs across his lap. She watched as his optics dimmed before he slowly leaned forward and kissed her, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

But this kiss was so much different than previous ones he had given her. He was hungry for her this time, he was eager, and it almost seemed like he was trying to convince her of something. She felt like she melted against him as he pulled her so close there was no space between them. His hands slowly roamed her body, his fingertips teasing her flesh, sending shivers through her.

* * *

Optimus and Aurora were still quietly talking when they heard noises coming from the hot tub. Curious, they peaked out from their room in the fort only to see Megatron and Angelique locked together in an extremely passionate kiss. "Well, I'll be," Aurora muttered, "Think he finally told her?"

"We'll find out in the next coming days, that's for sure," the Autobot leader replied.

"I still can't believe he confided in you like that."

"I do believe he's finally starting to come around," Optimus said before he took Aurora in his arms, "Come on, let's give them their privacy. We should get to sleep."

"Alright…"

* * *

When the kiss finally ended, Angelique could hardly breathe. She looked up at the Decepticon leader, her eyes full of passion. "Megatron…" she breathed.

"Yes?"

"I do love you…so much."

His spark ached to tell her how he felt, but the words were heavy on his tongue. Instead, he looked her over, trying to memorize the features of her body that he never wanted to forget. But one question burned in his mind, and he was desperate for an answer. "Angelique," he said as he slowly revealed his spark to her, "Tell me, what do you see?"

She stared, surprised and uncertain of what he was doing. For a while, she didn't say anything, and Megatron could see she was struggling to come up with the right words. He sighed heavily, how could he expect her to know what to say? She was young, inexperienced…but what did he know when it came to love? He was just as naïve and young and inexperienced as she was…

"Remember when you were 'training' me?" she asked, "And how I said that it's what's inside a person that makes them beautiful or ugly?"

He smirked, "You said I was ugly."

She shook her head, "I said that out of spite."

"So what do you see?" he repeated.

She smiled, "Someone who wants to be beautiful."

It was all she needed to say. She knew him for exactly who he was, a horrible person, who wanted to be better, but only for her. Megatron hid his smile as he lifted her in his arms and got out of the hot tub. He dried her off before drying himself and then carried her back to their assigned 'bedroom' within the fort. He lay down, setting her beside him, and once she was comfortable, he retook her in his arms and held her close to him, watching as she fell asleep.

* * *

"Starscream, will you wake up?" Joey shouted as she shook the Decepticon second in command, "There's something wrong with you."

"Something…wrong with me?" he breathed as he rolled over to face her.

_I'm a blonde bimbo girl in the fantasy world  
Dress me up, make it tight, I'm your dolly  
You're my doll, rock and roll, feel the glamour in pink  
Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky panky  
You can touch, you can play, if you say: "I'm always yours"_

"What the hell?" Starscream growled as he sat up, but the song only started playing again. He listened to the chorus, feeling a chill go through his chassis before he looked to Joey and asked, "What did you do?"

"N-Nothing," she snickered.

_Come on Barbie let's go party!_

"Every time I move that accursed song starts playing…and it's not even a _good _song!" he whined.

"Really?" she asked.

"Watch!" he said as he waved his arm back and forth.

_I'm-I'm-I'm-I'm-I'm a Barbie girl…_

That's when Optimus, Aurora, Megatron, and Angelique emerged from their 'bedrooms,' all of them laughing. "Ah Starscream," the Decepticon leader chuckled, "Isn't revenge just _sweet_?"

He growled before he stormed off, dragging Joey along with him. He was headed to the med bay where he hoped and prayed Red Alert would fix him…however, Megatron, Optimus, Aurora, and Angelique couldn't help but laugh as the song echoed down the hallways.

"Well Angelique," Aurora said as their laughter died down, "We should get ready for our parents' arrival."

"This is going to be a drag," Angelique groaned as she beginning picking up her stuff.

Megatron and Optimus exchanged glances before the Autobot leader spoke, "Perhaps…you should introduce them to us."

"Are you serious?" Aurora asked, "I mean…guaranteed they'll flip out. They don't like transformers; they thought we were crazy for liking the show so much."

"Now that we're real it might be a little different," Megatron said, "I agree with Optimus."

Optimus nodded, "We're not going to remain a secret forever. It's best that we're just up front and honest about it."

The two sisters exchanged glances before Angelique sighed. "Well," she said, "This sure is going to be interesting…"

* * *

Many kudos to Mrs. Optimus Prime for the prank ideas. Until the next chapter, please review!


	25. Meet the Parents

Kudos to Color Guard Sweet Heart Hottie Fury for giving me an awesome idea for this story. Sorry I had to type your name that way though, FFN wouldn't let me do it as one word. I tweaked your idea a little though, but you'll know when it happens. XD Also, many, many thanks to everybody who has read and reviewed. I appreciate it very much.

* * *

**Chapter 25: Meet the Parents**

Aurora couldn't help but pace the hangout nervously. Angelique had finished cleaning it hours ago, but that wasn't what worried her. The fact that her parents were going to be there soon made her more nervous than what she had been in a long time. She nearly jumped out of her metallic flesh when her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket. Recovering quickly, she pulled the phone from her pocket and answered, "Hello?"

"Hello! I just wanted to let you know your father and I are boarding the plane right now, so we can't talk long. We'll be back in New York in a few hours! We'll call when we land."

"O-Okay," Aurora answered, "Hey mom?"

"Yeah honey?"

"Angelique and I need to tell you something when you get home. It isn't bad; we just need you and dad to have an open mind."

"…Has one of you decided to…come out of the closet? Is that what people call it nowadays?"

"Mom! No, that's _not_ it."

"Okay, well, we'll talk about it later on, okay?"

"Alright."

"I'll talk to you later, sweetheart."

"Bye mom," Aurora said before hanging up. She sighed heavily before resuming her pacing across the hangout. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Optimus enter the hangout.

He watched Aurora for a moment before a frown went across his face. Aurora jumped when she suddenly felt arms encircle her waist from behind, but before she could try to get away, a familiar voice breathed, "Relax Aurora, it's only me."

She sighed heavily, "Sorry Optimus, you startled me. I didn't even hear you come in."

"Is everything alright?" he asked as he turned her to face him.

"I'm worried about how my parents are going to react. I mean, knowing them, they may not want to keep you guys a secret and if that happens—

He kissed her, trying to get her to stop worrying. A few moments later he pulled away before breathing, "What's the worst they can do, Aurora? They'll listen to you before they'll listen to anybody else."

"But if my parents don't like you…" she trailed off, "Just…how much are we going to tell them?"

"We're going to tell them everything."

"Even how Angelique and I aren't human anymore? Even how you and I are so in love?" she asked before blushing.

He smiled, "Yes, Aurora."

"Aren't you nervous?" she asked.

"Yes, but I do believe we can handle this. Just imagine how Angelique must feel, she has to make your parents like the Decepticons."

Aurora couldn't help but smile as she leaned against the Autobot leader, "Yeah, I hadn't thought about that."

"Now come on," Optimus said, "Let's go make sure everything is in order before your parents get here. We don't want a bad first impression."

"Good idea."

* * *

Megatron couldn't help but watch as Angelique brushed her hair, humming quietly to herself. He had come into her room to ask her if she had heard from her parents at all, only to catch her doing something so beautifully innocent. He couldn't help but relax against the doorframe as he watched her, a small smile on his face as he crossed his arms, debating whether or not to interrupt her or just take her in.

"You're beautiful, Angelique."

She whirled around, holding her brush out in front of her like a sword only to catch the Decepticon leader's gaze. "M-Megatron," she stammered, "How um…how long have you been standing there?" And she blushed.

He smiled as he walked over to her before he answered, "Long enough. You don't actually plan on using that brush against me, do you?"

"Oh, um…" and she quickly set it on her desk.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and was quiet for a moment before he said, "I am curious as to how you will introduce me to your parents. Are you going to be honest and tell them I am leader of the Decepticons, the harbinger of death and destruction?"

"They already know that. They also know that you are my favorite, but they don't know how much I love you."

Megatron couldn't help but smile at the last three words she said. "So, they already don't like me?"

"They don't like _any_ transformers…well, actually that's not true, my mom likes Bumblebee…but everybody likes Bumblebee."

"Angelique, I _want_ them to like _me_."

She looked up at him surprised, "Y-You do?"

"As odd as that sounds coming from me, yes, I do."

"Megatron…if Optimus and Aurora confess their relationship, my parents are going to ask if we're together…"

"And?"

She looked away from him before saying, "I'll um…just say we're good friends."

And with a heavy spark, he nodded. He wanted to say so much more, but now was not the time for it. "Well, I am going to go warn my troops to be on their best behavior," he said, "If there's anything you need, just give me a call on the comm." And he turned to leave the room, but before he could step out the door, Angelique's voice stopped him.

"Do you…really think I'm beautiful?" she asked.

He smiled before he turned to her. "More than anything," and with that, he left the room.

* * *

Optimus had all of his troops line up in the command center. He looked them over before saying, "Autobots, I need you all to be on your best behavior, Aurora and Angelique's parents are coming home today and they will be shown the base as well as be introduced to all of us. Wing-Saber, Hotshot, Jetfire…absolutely no pranks or smart-aft comments. If I find out any of you were behind anything stupid, you'll answer to me, do I make myself clear?"

"Aw, come on," Wing-Saber groaned, "No laughing gas? No whoopee cushions? They'll create first impressions you'll never forget."

"Wing-Saber, this is serious."

"Come on, your in-laws will love me!" Wing-Saber persisted.

"They're not his in-laws yet," Aurora said.

"Oh…fine, I'll be good."

"You better be," Optimus warned, "You're all dismissed, I just ask that each of you check to make sure everything is in order."

The Autobots agreed before returning to their regular duties. When the attention was off of him, Optimus turned to Aurora before carefully taking her hand within his. He led her out of the command center and down the hall a ways before he pulled her against him. She wrapped her arms around him before looking up at him. "Everything okay?" she asked.

"Do you think your parents will see me as a good leader?"

"Optimus…when they hear about all that you've done for me, about how you saved my life, about how you've maintained an alliance with Megatron, you've got nothing to be worried about," Aurora replied, trying to reassure him.

"Are you a daddy's girl?"

She laughed, "Angelique is his baby girl."

"Thank Primus," he whispered before kissing her.

Aurora smiled as she leaned into his kiss. She felt like melting when she felt him slowly trace his fingertips up her torso to her face. He gently tucked her hair behind her ear before deepening the kiss. She moaned lightly as he parted her lips with his tongue and tasted her. His tongue danced over her tongue, her teeth, everything.

"I love you so much," he breathed

"I love you too," she replied.

* * *

"Men," Megatron said as he stood before his troops in the throne room. He went to continue his speech when suddenly Joey and Thunderblast cleared their throats. He sighed heavily, "And Thunderblast and Joey…I need you all to be on your best behavior and, for the rest of the day, neglect your Decepticon programming."

"You…can't be serious!" Thundercracker remarked.

"Angelique's parents are coming, if you don't want to be reported to scientists and dissected, then I suggest you act as if you're an Autobot," Megatron warned, "If you don't, you'll answer to me."

"So, in other words," Ransack said, "We have to be nice?"

"Precisely, that also means no pranks," he added before looking to Joey and Starscream, "Do I make myself clear?"

Joey mock saluted, "Crystal, just as long as you don't prank Starscream."

"I won't be."

"You got that right," Starscream remarked.

However, Joey was quick to cross her arms before giving Megatron a scrutinizing look. He caught her gaze before asking, "What?"

"I think you and I should have a little talk…alone."

Megatron looked to his troops before saying, "You're dismissed." And he motioned for Joey to follow him into the hallway. When they were alone, he asked, "What is it?"

"You're trying to _impress_ Angelique's parents, aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, it seems like I'm the only one who caught on, if that makes you feel better. Look, you probably already know that girl is crazy about you. She's young yeah, but her feelings are true. And she's a _good_ kid. You aren't going to do much better than her. And you make your feelings for her blatantly obvious."

For the first time in his life, Megatron felt himself blush. "How do you know how I feel?" he asked.

"You and Angelique weren't the quietest last night in the hot tub."

He looked away.

"I've seen it in your eyes…optics, whatever you call them. You love her, and you need to tell her. You've only got everything to gain. And if you want to be romantic about it, buy her roses, write her a poem or something, but tell her before something happens, tell her before you lose her. Don't be afraid of what everybody else will think. If it makes you feel better, I've already scored with your second in command where _you_ haven't with Angelique."

"What?" he demanded.

"In the shower, we didn't do anything because we kind of can't, but hey, we improvised," and she grinned.

"First," Megatron said, "I _don't_ need the details. Second, you've _just_ met him!"

"We said hello, how are you, and then the clothes came off, that was the only introduction we needed."

"Primus!"

"Look, if your second in command is doing this with me, then you've got nothing to worry about. People won't look at you strange."

"You…can go now; you left me with more mental scarring than anything."

"You pussy."

"Go now before I hit you…" he growled.

Joey didn't have to be told twice and went back inside the throne room. Megatron looked down the hallway that led to Angelique's quarters. All he had to do was confess…

* * *

Starscream looked to Joey when she came back into the throne room rather hurriedly. He caught her in his arms before he opened a dimension gate and stepped with her through it. They ended up in his quarters and as the gate closed, the Decepticon second in command asked, "What did you have to talk to him about?"

"I _tried_ to convince him that he needs to hurry up and tell Angelique that he loves her."

"Oh, forget about them already," Starscream said as he gathered her up in his arms, "He'll tell her eventually. I'd rather focus on us."

"Oh?" she remarked with a smirk as she pressed herself closer to him, "I know you don't love me."

"I don't have to love you to have you in whatever way I see fit. I'm second in command of the Decepticons; I'm entitled to anything I want."

"Not anything, you're incapable of having sex with me."

"I don't have to have sex with you to enjoy you," he said as he guided her over to his berth, where he pinned her down.

She smirked as she confessed, "I told Megatron we took a shower together."

He grinned, "What did he say?"

"He was quite shocked, but he didn't want to know the details. You'll have to fill him in sometime."

"Shocked, was he?"

"He can't believe we skipped all the formalities and pretty much threw ourselves at each other."

"We're adults," he said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, "Besides; formalities just get in the way. Joey, will you be mine?"

"Depends on how long you want me to be yours. I rather enjoy being single."

"For awhile, until we get sick of each other," he said as he leaned in to kiss her.

"And if we don't?"

"I'll claim you as my mate if it comes to that, now shut up so I can kiss you," he said.

She smiled at Starscream's lips finally met hers. He had been eager in the beginning and so had she. The attraction between them had been almost immediate. One thing had quickly led to another, and while Joey was terrified she was taking things way too fast, she knew this was her only chance with the Decepticon second in command. If this was how he wanted to dance, so be it.

She only hoped she didn't get hurt in the end.

* * *

Aurora wasn't surprised when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket later that afternoon. She pulled it out only to see that her mother was calling again. Trying to sound calm, she answered saying, "Hi mom, how was the flight?"

"It was fine, we're almost home. We'll be there in about ten minutes. So, we'll see you soon, okay?"

"You're that close already?" Aurora asked, feeling panic bubble inside of her, "Well, Angelique and I will be waiting for you."

"Okay hun, your father and I send our love."

"I love you guys too, bye mom." And she hung up. She then looked to Optimus before saying, "Well, get ready. Mom and dad are going to be home in about ten minutes. I'm going to go with Angelique up to the house to meet them."

"Alright," Optimus said, "We'll be ready for when you guys get back."

Aurora nodded before she left the hangout.

* * *

Angelique was walking towards her room when her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket. It surprised her so much she jumped, but when she realized what it was, she pulled it out of her pocket and answered the phone. "Hello?" she asked.

"Hey it's your sister. Get your butt up to the house; mom and dad are going to be here in 10 minutes."

"Okay, I'll be there in like, two. Let me just warn Megs real quick."

"Alright, but hurry."

Angelique listened as her sister hung up before she called Megatron's comm. "Hey Megsie-baby, I got news," she said when he answered.

"What did you just call me?"

"Um…nothing…but _mon parents _are going to be here in a few minutes."

"Well, Angie-baby, thanks for the warning."

"Did you just call me—?

"Megatron out." And he ended the call.

Angelique looked at her phone with a blush on her face before she headed up to her house.

* * *

"So," Aurora exhaled loudly when she saw Angelique come into the house, "How do you think this is going to go?"

Angelique shrugged, "I'm not worried. What's the worst that can happen?"

Aurora didn't get a chance to reply as their parents suddenly pulled into the driveway. Once they had parked in the garage, the girls went out and helped them bring their luggage inside. After everything was out of the car, the girls took their parents into the living room where they sat them down.

"Okay," their mother said, "What's this news that you two have to tell us besides you were kidnapped?"

And Angelique was blunt, "Our Transformers toys came to life, we can prove it to you. Just follow us."

"Whoa now," their father spoke, "We know how crazy you two are about that show, but that's impossible."

"Dad," Aurora stated, "Just come with us. The Autobots and Decepticons wish to meet you and there is a lot that needs to be explained to you."

Without anymore protest, their parents stood, and Angelique and Aurora led them out of the house and down into the gully where the base was. "So," their father mused as the girls led them to a patch of trees, "Can we expect a bunch of your friends wearing cardboard boxes to jump out at us?"

Angelique growled as she yanked down on the tree branch the opened the elevator into the base, only to shock her parents. Satisfied, she smiled before saying, "Still expecting cardboard wannabes?"

"Let's…just go," Aurora said as they got inside the elevator before it lowered them down into the base.

When the elevator doors opened, the family stepped inside the base, and Angelique and Aurora's parents were immediately blown away by the technological advancements. "So…" their mother mused, "Just…which one of your transformers came to life?"

"All of them!" Angelique stated proudly, "And you're going to meet them all. You see, Optimus Prime thought it would be a good idea for us to just be honest about this and not lie. We've got so much to tell you!"

"As long as we can sit down as we're taking the information in," their father replied.

They ended up going to the hangout, but before Aurora opened the doors to go in, she warned, "Okay, _all_ the Transformers are going to be in there. _Please_ try to refrain from embarrassing us." And she proceeded to open the doors.

"Oh my word," their father said as they walked into the room.

"Don't be shy!" Aurora said, "Introduce yourselves."

The Autobots and Decepticons proceeded to sound off, introducing who they were. When they were finished, the parents introduced themselves.

"Steve," their father said.

"Emily."

"But now that we have the introductions out of the way," Steve said, "Start explaining."

"This is going to sound corny," Aurora remarked, "But the night before they came to life, I made a wish that they would, just to make the summer more interesting. Well, when Angelique and I woke up the next morning, low and behold the Autobots and Decepticons were alive and threatening to start their war back up in our house."

"But they didn't!" Angelique added quickly, "We convinced them to form an alliance and build this base so that they would have a place to stay."

"So why were you two kidnapped?" Emily asked.

"Daniel McHugh wanted your property," Optimus said, deciding he better explain this, "He was going to turn this place into a limestone mine, but Aurora and Angelique did not want him to find this place, so they protested the mine. In order to stop the opposition, he kidnapped them, but we rescued them."

"Is there anything else we should know?"

Megatron and Optimus dismissed their troops before Optimus answered, "Yes."

"Well, do tell," Steve said.

"First," Angelique said, "Aurora and I are not human anymore…we're gynoids."

"What do you mean?" their father asked angrily.

"Mom, dad, if they hadn't turned us into gynoids we wouldn't be alive right now. You see, Megatron made me a gynoid by pure accident, but if that hadn't happened, when Daniel McHugh shot me in the chest…I wouldn't have lived," Angelique explained.

"Same here," Aurora said, "When I was shot, Optimus saved my life by making me a gynoid."

"So…I suppose we owe you guys a thank you," their mother said, looking to Optimus and Megatron.

"Well, is there anything else we should know?" there father asked in a calmer voice.

"Uh…Optimus and I are dating…" Aurora said quickly.

Both of their parents were silent for a moment before their father said, "He's certainly not who I imagined you getting with…but I suppose since you're a gynoid now you can only date robots."

"Honey, he's _leader_ of the Autobots," their mother said, "You can't get any better than that!"

"Okay, but if you guys get married, _I _get to decide the names of all your children, understood?"

Optimus just chuckled, "Aurora is too young for that."

"Right answer! I like this guy already," their father said before turning to Angelique, "What about my baby girl? Do you have a boyfriend?"

She shook her head, "No."

Steve looked over at Megatron, only to catch him staring at Angelique with a gentle yet sad expression his face. He looked back to his daughter only to see she was blushing and stealing glances at the Decepticon leader. He put a hand on Megatron's shoulder before saying, "Let's you and I go for a walk."

"Oh dear," Angelique exclaimed, "Dad, be gentle!"

Megatron felt a knot building in his tanks as he left the hangout with Angelique's father. Steve waited until the door closed before he said, "You do know that my daughter is crazy about you, right?"

"Yes, I am fully aware."

"I'd move the sun and the moon to give my daughters everything they wanted, especially Angelique. Being the youngest, she sometimes gets the short end of the stick."

"I'm afraid I do not follow."

"I _saw_ how you were looking at her. Now, I only want the best for my daughters, and you being leader of the Decepticons, well, that probably makes you one of the worst things my daughters could be exposed to."

Megatron looked away, not even wanting to argue his case. Instead, he confessed, "I do harbor intense affections for your daughter, she is unaware. I do not wish to hurt her. I know who I am, I'm fully aware of who I've hurt and what I've done. I'd give up everything to make myself more likeable to everyone…especially her."

"That is why you're going to sweep my daughter off her feet and if I ever find out you so much as made her cry, you'll be answering to me."

"What? You mean—

"Leader of the Decepticons is a respectable title; though you may be the bad guy…you've changed. Next Wednesday is her birthday; she'll be turning 17, a good age to fall in love. She's always wanted a tuxedo kitten. Tell her then; make it the best birthday of her life. I'm counting on you." And without another word, he went back into the hangout.

"_Next Wednesday…"_ Megatron thought as he went back inside the hangout. He grinned.

It would be perfect.

* * *

I am sorry if this chapter ends rather abruptly, but there's just no more I can squeeze out of it. I'll be updating again soon though. Until then, please review!


	26. The Truth Behind the Roses

Alright, here is your chapter that is way long over due. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing, you've kept my spirits alive. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, as a present, here is this long over due chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 26: The Truth Behind the Roses**

Wednesday.

Megatron stared at the bound pieces of paper that humans called a calendar, optics locked on the date. It was only days ago that Angelique's father informed him that next Wednesday was her birthday. Well, it was next Wednesday, almost. Tomorrow was her birthday. He felt like the calendar was glaring back at him, and for once, he felt like cringing under its oppressive gaze.

"_Make it the best birthday of her life. I'm counting on you."_

The Decepticon leader sighed heavily as he recalled what her father said. He wasn't the one to plan romantic birthday surprises, even though he had stayed up late into the night this past week trying to plan the perfect thing. He couldn't say he was happy with what he came up with, but he figured if it made Angelique happy, that was all that mattered.

But he was so afraid of disappointing everyone.

He was the leader of the Decepticons, he was heartless, he was bitter, he took pride in breaking sparks, killing people, and getting his way. Peace through tyranny, that was the way it had always been. But to give away his spark…to accept someone as his second self…could he really? He sighed heavily as he lay down to sleep. This was what he wanted; this was what he had chosen.

This was it.

* * *

Angelique groaned when she woke up the next morning. She had slept in until 9:00am, but even so, she was still tired. She sat up and stretched as she tried to rub the remaining sleep from her eyes. But, as she did so, something red caught her eye. Confused, she looked over to her desk where there was a bouquet of red roses. "W-What's this?" she remarked to herself as she crawled out of the bed and went over to the desk. She observed the roses for a moment before she noticed a note attached to them.

_Angelique,  
My dearest…have a happy birthday._

She couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. She wondered who it was from and how they knew it was her birthday. She hadn't told anyone, but it wasn't unlike her sister or parents to go around and inform everyone of when her birthday was. "Hmm…" she mused as she looked the flowers over once again. "It must've been Wing-Saber," she concluded, "Nobody else would do anything this sweet for me."

Giving a small smile, she set the note down on the desk and went into the bathroom to shower and get ready to face the day. While it was her day to enjoy, she never knew what kind of surprises would be thrown at her. After her shower, she proceeded to dress and dry her hair, and just as she finished doing so, there was a knock at her door. "Come in!" she hollered so that person outside wanting to come in could hear.

"Happy birthday!" her sister yelled as she came into the room.

Angelique couldn't help but smile as she accepted a hug from Aurora. "Thanks," she replied.

"Whoa, who got you the roses?" she asked, noticing them immediately.

She shrugged, "I have no idea. I woke up and they were there."

"Any guesses as to who it was?"

"I'm thinking Wing-Saber," the younger sibling answered.

"I don't know," Aurora remarked, "He seems pretty involved with Lynk as of late."

"There was a note…"

"What did it say?"

Angelique proceeded to show the note to her sister. Aurora read it before looking back up. "My dearest?" she questioned.

Angelique couldn't help but blush, "I honestly don't know who gave it to me. It was very sweet of them, whoever it was."

"Think it could be Megatron?"

The question hung in the air as Angelique tried to formulate an answer in her mind. She couldn't fathom the rose or the note being from him. It wasn't something he would do. She shook her head before saying, "No, it can't be him. It isn't like him to be sweet or give presents or call me his dearest."

"Why not?"

"I…don't know."

"Angelique, come on, it's not a big secret, in fact, it's _so_ obvious."

"What's so obvious?"

But Aurora stopped. Instead she said, "It's not for me to tell you."

"To tell me what?"

"You'll probably see one day, and probably soon. But anyways, I just wanted to come by and wish you a happy birthday. I'd bake you a cake, but nobody here could eat it since none of us are human. So, you'll have to find something else to make your day sweet!" And she winked.

"Something else?"

"I'll catch you later!" Aurora said before leaving the room.

Angelique stared after her for a few moments feeling very confused about what she was talking about and hinting at, but finally she decided to just not think about it. She took one last look at the bouquet of roses that had been placed on her desk, wondering. _"No,"_ she finally concluded, _"It wasn't him."_ She then left her room to head down to the hangout.

Ever since their parents had been introduced to the transformers, they didn't hang out much. They understood that Angelique and Aurora wanted their privacy from them. Plus, they had been hanging out with the transformers this long without any parental interference; there was no need for them to become too overbearing. The Autobots, if not the Decepticons, would do their part to keep Aurora and Angelique safe from harm.

"Happy birthday!"

Angelique was startled by the sudden outburst that came from behind her. She whirled around only to see Wing-Saber standing there, a smug expression on his face. "Oh," she remarked, realizing it was him, "Thanks."

"You don't sound very thankful," he said as he walked up to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "Did you like the roses I left in your room?"

Angelique tried to hide her disappointment. "You…you mean those were from you?" she asked. Inside she had been hoping that they had been from Megatron.

"Of course! I had to get my favorite gynoid _something_ for her birthday," he said before noticing her slightly dejected look, "Why, were you hoping they were from Megatron?"

She blushed profusely before admitting, "That would've been amazing. But, why did _you_ get me roses?"

"What's wrong with roses?"

"Well, they are a sign of romance…"

He laughed, "Come on, you know I'm with Lynk now. I didn't know roses were such an intimate flower here on Earth. I just thought girls liked them."

"Oh, well, they are nice, but um, what was up with the note then?"

"The note?" he asked.

Angelique swore she saw a mild look of panic go across his face, but it was gone as quickly as it came, and she wasn't sure if she really saw it or not. "You called me your dearest," she explained.

Wing-Saber smiled, "Got a problem with it?"

"I'm _not_ your dearest."

"I was just trying to make you happy."

"I appreciate that Wing-Saber, just watch what you say."

"I'll try…but anyways, I have orders to keep you away from the hangout, just because it looks like that's where you're headed."

"Why can't I go to the hangout?"

"I don't know, Optimus requested private use of it. He's probably going to get it on with Aurora."

"Please! I still have virgin ears."

"If you want, we can change that."

"I am _going_ to hit you."

"Alright, sorry. But, let's you and I go do something."

She shot him a skeptical look, "Like what?"

He shrugged, "I don't know."

"I think I'm going to go back to my room then…if you don't mind."

"Come on Angelique, it's your birthday, don't spend all day locked up in there by yourself."

She shrugged, "It's just another day of the week."

"Well, suit yourself," he said before walking away.

Angelique sighed heavily before turning and heading back to her room. To be honest, she did feel like it was just another day of the week. Her parents never made a huge deal out of her birthday, and that was the way she wanted it. They had a small celebration, which usually involved eating cake and opening a few presents, but this year, cake wasn't an option.

She half thought about going to the Decepticon throne room to see what they were up to…to see what Megatron was up to. She changed her mind though and instead returned to her room, where she walked in and closed the door behind her. Quite honestly, Angelique knew it would be better if she just avoided the leader of the Decepticons. She had too many fantasies running through her mind about possible presents he could give her in order to sweep her off her feet—she shook her head, trying desperately to forget the fantasies that more than likely would not come true.

She didn't want to bother him about it. She figured he probably didn't even know it was her birthday, and if he was unaware, she wanted to keep it that way. There was no use in fooling herself with false realities, dreams that she wished would come true.

* * *

After leaving Angelique's room, Aurora had gone straight to the hangout where she, their parents, and some of the Autobots were helping to prepare for a surprise birthday party for the younger sister. It was Wing-Saber's duty to keep Angelique away from the hangout, and so far, so good.

"How was Angelique?" Optimus asked when he noticed Aurora come into the hangout.

She gave him a smile before replying, "She is doing fine. She's already gotten a bouquet of roses."

"Oh really? From who?"

"She doesn't know, but I think it was Megatron."

"I don't know about that," Optimus replied, "I invited him to attend the party but he declined."

Aurora gave him a skeptical look before saying, "Declined? Did he give a reason?"

"He said he wasn't much of a party person."

"But it's for Angelique! It would make her day if he came."

"I know."

"Does _he_ know?"

"Probably, we both know how he feels about her."

"Was that the only reason he gave?" she asked.

"Yes, but, I think he's planning something of his own to surprise her," Optimus replied, "When I talked to him earlier, he seemed kind of…nervous."

"Do you think…he might confess his feelings to her?"

"I don't know, but I hope so. It's about time he did."

Aurora nodded in agreement before saying, "Well, we'll see what happens. Let's just get back to setting up."

And they went back to setting up for the party.

* * *

"What did Angelique think of the roses?"

Wing-Saber looked to the Decepticon leader, happily. Megatron was perched in his throne, staring at him with intent and hopefulness swimming in his pale blue optics. The Autobot grinned mischievously, knowing that he could have fun with this.

"What would you do if I said she didn't like them?" he replied smugly.

Megatron frowned and broke his gaze from Wing-Saber's. But, knowing that torture wasn't in his nature, Wing-Saber said, "She seemed happy about them until I told her they were from me. She even said it would've been amazing if they had been from you."

The Decepticon leader perked up and looked back to the Autobot. "So," he mused, "She believes they are from you?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"About 95%."

"Why not 100%?"

Wing-Saber frowned, "Look Megatron, you're lucky I'm helping you do this at all considering our history together. You want me to keep her from guessing what you're doing, so I will. Just don't get snippy with me."

Megatron sighed heavily before saying, "Alright…just go do the next part of the plan."

"I'm on it."

* * *

Angelique was surprised when she heard a sudden knock on her door. Curious as to whom it was, she opened the door only to see Wing-Saber standing there. She couldn't believe it was him of all people. She crossed her arms before asking, "What are you doing here?"

"I don't want you to be in your room by yourself. Come on, let's go for a walk."

Angelique sighed heavily before following him down the hallway. She wasn't paying much attention to where they were going as she asked, "Just what is up with you today? I haven't really talked to you in like, forever, and then today you're all over me."

"I wouldn't say I'm all over you," he replied.

"Well, you're quite bothersome."

"You know you love me."

"Actually, no I don't."

"That hurts."

"I was only being honest."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said, "Hey, you want to go down to the hangout and see if Optimus is finally done in there?"

"That sounds good to me."

And together they walked down to the hangout. When they got there, Angelique opened the door only to discover it was pitch-black inside. She turned on the lights only to nearly jump out of her skin when people seemed to jump out of every corner yelling, "Happy birthday!"

Angelique couldn't hide a smile as she accepted hugs from her sister and parents. "Guys," she said, "I wasn't expecting this, you didn't have to do this."

"Well," her father said as he wrapped an arm around her, "You only turn 17 once."

"Yeah, but 18 is a more important age."

"Seventeen is a good age," he said, "Your mother was seventeen when I met her."

"Well, don't get her too hopeful dad," Aurora said as she directed Angelique towards a small statue of a birthday cake.

The cake wasn't real, but it still had seventeen lit candles on the top of it. The rest of the statue was decorated with presents. "We know you can't have a real cake," their mother said, "So, the Autobots helped us throw this one together."

"You guys didn't have to do all this!" Angelique stated.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Aurora said, "Just make a wish and blow out your candles so you can open your presents."

She took a deep breath before closing her eyes and making a silent wish. When she had it, she opened her eyes and managed to blow all of her candles out in one breath. She then took a seat in a chair, her presents scattered around her. Her parents sat in chairs next to each other while Wing-Saber left the room and Aurora took a seat next to Optimus. Angelique opened each present slowly, wanting to appreciate the moment while she could. Most of the presents were clothes or jewelry, but Angelique was thankful for all of it. She opened the cards that her friends and distant family sent her, and when she finished, she said, "Thanks for everything again."

"I hope you had a good birthday dear."

"I did mom," Angelique said.

"Wait a minute, we forgot a card on the cake," her dad said as he pulled it off and tossed it at her.

The card landed on Angelique's lap. She picked it up and read the envelope. Scrawled across the face of it in very fancy handwriting was her name. Whoever wrote it had beautiful handwriting. Carefully, she opened the envelope only to discover that a folded piece of paper was inside, not a card. Slowly, she pulled the paper out and even slower, she unfolded it.

_Meet me outside the base._

Angelique noticed it was the same handwriting as the note that had been attached to the roses that were left on her desk. She growled as she stood up, setting the note on the chair where she had been sitting. "What's wrong?" her sister asked.

"Wing-Saber confessed this morning that he got me the roses," Angelique said as she headed for the door to the hangout, "That 'card' was written in the same handwriting. I'm going to go see just what he's trying to pull." And she left the hangout.

Aurora went over to the chair and picked up the note before handing it to Optimus and asking, "What do you make of this?"

He looked the note over briefly before saying, "I've known Wing-Saber long enough to know this _isn't_ his handwriting."

"Wait a minute," Aurora remarked, "If it's not his handwriting, that means he lied about giving her the roses…and that also means—

"Someone _else_ is meeting her outside the base," Optimus said, finishing her sentence.

* * *

As soon as she was outside of the base, Angelique looked for Wing-Saber's familiar form. It was dark out, so she couldn't see perfectly. "Wing-Saber?" she called, but that's when she noticed a blackened figure shadowed against the moonlight. "Wing-Saber!" she yelled as she ran up to him.

"I'm not Wing-Saber, Angelique."

She stopped dead in her tracks, her breath caught in her throat. She was only a couple feet away from him, but she could definitely tell who it was now. She swallowed hard; hugging herself as she suddenly noticed how chilly the breeze was.

"M-Megatron?"

He smiled before saying gently, "Happy birthday, dearest."

"W-What? Wait a minute…how did you know it was my birthday? A-And why did you call me dearest?"

But he didn't answer her questions as he asked, "Did you like the roses I left for you this morning?"

"But Wing-Saber said—

"I told him to say that because I didn't want you to know they were from me, not until now."

"Why?" she asked quietly.

"Angelique," he said as he gazed into her eyes. There was no more running away now, there was no more denying how he felt. This was it. "Remember when I said that you are my Decepticon, linked solely to me by Primus knows what, that I don't reciprocate your feelings, but I appreciate them nonetheless?"

"Y-Yes."

"It's not true."

A panicked expression went across her face, "What do you mean it's not true?"

"I don't know how to express what words aren't meant to describe. I can't promise that I will never hurt you again, I can't promise that I won't make you cry, I can't promise that I'll be nice to you all the time, but I can promise you the truth."

She was hesitant as she asked, "Which is?"

"You are my Decepticon, linked solely to me by _love_, that I _do_ reciprocate your feelings and appreciate them, and that I'd like to keep you around, no matter _what_."

"I am dreaming…" she breathed as her eyes filled with tears.

"You're not dreaming, I assure you—

"Then I'm going to faint."

"Don't faint," he said as he wrapped his arms around her and gently pulled her against him.

She looked up at him, her heart pounding in her chest. "Megatron," she whispered.

"Just love me," he breathed, "I've denied this for so long."

And she grinned broadly before saying, "I guess I don't have a choice in this."

"Of course not, I'm leader of the Decepticons, I take what I want and I…I want you," he replied before leaning forward and capturing her lips with his.

As he kissed her, Angelique let the tears fall. She was beyond elated, she was beyond the point of where words could describe how she felt. All her life, all the seventeen years she had been in existence, this was all she had ever wanted; to love someone and be loved in return. She never imagined it would be Megatron of all people, but she was thrilled that it was him. She just prayed that this would never end, that their love would never die.

"You're shivering," he mumbled as they pulled away.

"I can't help it," she whispered, barely able to talk from the happiness of it all, "I'm just so happy."

He smiled and wiped away her tears before saying, "I want to try and keep our relationship a secret for now."

Angelique wasn't sure why, but agreed. Before she could ask though, he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Let's go back inside, I have another present for you."

"Megatron, if I get anymore presents from you, I might die from happiness."

"I won't let you die," he said as he took her by the hand and led her back inside, "I promise."

* * *

Neither Optimus nor Aurora were that surprised when Angelique returned to the hangout with Megatron in tow. Their parents were no longer around.

"Oh?" Aurora remarked when she saw the two come in, "This is who wanted to meet you outside the base?"

"Yeah," Angelique replied, "It caught me off guard." She tried her best not to come off as if she were on cloud nine.

"And what did you want with my sister?" Aurora asked, looking to Megatron.

"Just to wish her a happy birthday, privately," he replied as he went over to the cake statue.

"Angelique, are you still a virgin?"

"Aurora!" Angelique yelled as her cheeks turned bright red, "_Yes_, I am!" But a sudden meow caught her attention.

Everyone looked over to see Megatron removed the top of the cake and pulled a small kitten out from within the cake. However, the kitten was startled by Megatron and immediately began biting and scratching at his hand and arm. Its paws were small enough to slip between his armor plates and tear at synthetic flesh and wires.

"Ouch!" Megatron yelled as he glared at the kitten, "Alright Angelique, I know you wanted one of these hell-spawned _demons_, but you never said they ouch! You never said they came with claws!"

Both Optimus and Aurora laughed as Angelique went over and took the black and white tuxedo kitten in her arms and immediately calmed it down. "Awww!" she cooed, "He's so cute! He is a he right?" She looked under the kitten's tail quickly before saying, "Yup, it's a he. Thank you, Megatron."

"You're welcome," he said.

"He _is_ cute," Aurora said as she came over, "What are you going to name him?"

"Figaro," she replied.

"Lucifer would be more appropriate," Megatron said as he checked his hand over.

Everyone just laughed.

* * *

Later that evening, when the party was finally over, Angelique walked with Megatron back to his room carrying Figaro in her arms. Before they could enter, the Decepticon leader scooped Angelique up in his arms and carried her inside. He set her down carefully on the bed before crawling into the bed with her and retaking her in his arms. Figaro made himself comfortable at the foot of the bed as Angelique scooted closer to Megatron.

As they were falling asleep, Angelique couldn't help but ask, "Megatron, are you happy now?"

He smiled gently as he answered her question with a kiss. When they pulled away, he breathed, "Go to sleep now, sweetspark. I'll be here when you wake up in the morning."

And she fell asleep feeling the happiest she had ever felt in her whole life.

* * *

Until the next chapter, please review!


	27. A Vision in Pink Part I

There was no way I could make this one chapter, so this chapter had to be split into two chapters just because so much was going to happen. So, here's part one, I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and a quick note, I had to bump up the rating on this story to an M, but you'll see why. Happy reading!

* * *

**Chapter 27: A Vision in Pink**

**Part I**

About a week had gone by since Angelique's birthday. So far, she and Megatron managed to keep their relationship a secret from everyone else. Even Angelique's father wasn't sure if Megatron had confessed his feelings to her or not, but he didn't ask, knowing that it was really none of his business. And even though it was extremely hard for the girl, she managed to keep her excitement about the relationship under control. However, she dreamed of the day she could tell everyone.

"Morning, dearest," Megatron breathed as he rolled over and gave Angelique a gentle kiss on the lips.

She grinned as she attempted to wake up, still fighting a bit of tiredness. She was quick to learn that being with Megatron meant late nights and early mornings, regardless though, she was grateful for the opportunity to be with him.

"Morning," she replied tiredly as she snuggled against him, burying herself in bed-sheets and blankets.

"I've never seen anyone that used as many blankets as you do," he remarked as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly, "Don't you feel safe at night?"

"Yes, when I'm with you," she said, "But that doesn't change the fact that there are still evil people that might live under the bed and in the closet."

He smirked, "The only evil person you have to worry about is the one that sleeps next to you at night."

She sat up on the berth, smiling as she looked down at him. He gave a soft smile himself as he looked up at her. Megatron wasn't sure what she did, but the lighting always seemed to hit her just right. She looked illuminated, like an angel.

"Don't get up," he said softly as he stroked her arm.

She lay down on top of him, resting her head under his chin. He pulled the blankets over them before wrapping his arms tightly around her. Gently, he stroked his fingers through her hair, loving how the soft strands seemed to melt between his fingers. Despite being leader of the Decepticons, it was moments like these that he lived for with her. There was no way he could describe how complete, how perfect it felt when their bodies touched.

"Megatron, you're warm and sexy and I love you."

He smiled involuntarily, never thinking that three simple words, words that he used to hate, could make him feel this happy. He shifted suddenly and Angelique was surprised to find herself beneath the Decepticon leader. She watched as he leaned down before he captured her lips with his in a passionate kiss. He let the kiss linger before slowly kissing down her neck. Angelique felt a sudden heat between her legs and moaned before saying, "Megatron, stop."

"Why?" he breathed almost seductively against her neck.

"You're starting a fire in my pants."

"I could turn that fire into an inferno if you like…" he smirked before kissing her again.

She laughed before pushing him off of her and saying, "Don't tempt me." She proceeded to get up from the berth and stretch, Megatron watching her as she did so.

"Come on," he said, "Get back in bed with me for a little while longer."

"I can't Megatron, its Aurora's birthday today and I still sort of need to get her a present," Angelique said as she went over to a dresser and began shuffling through a drawer, looking for something to wear.

"But it was just your birthday."

"I know, I was born less than a year after my sister was. We're the same age for a week. I need to get her something extra special; she's turning 18 this year."

"What's so special about 18?"

"You can vote, buy cigarettes, get a job without working papers, buy lottery tickets, join the military, get married without parental permission, among other things," she said as she pulled out a pair of jeans she planned on wearing, she then began rummaging around for a shirt.

"And 17?"

"Nothing much," she said, "Just, in New York State, it's legal for people to have sex when they turn 17."

"I can't believe you have laws on that kind of stuff."

"It's supposed to help protect the youth from rape," she said as she finally decided on a shirt.

"Well, what are you getting your sister?"

"Maybe condoms as a gag gift."

He snickered, "I'm sure she and Optimus would appreciate that, but what are you really going to get her?"

"Probably an iPod," she answered as she walked over to the cleansing room.

"And how do you plan on getting to the store?" he asked.

"Well Megatron," she said, "Since you're the _best_ evil villain boyfriend in the whole universe, will you take me?"

Once again he smiled even though he didn't want to. "I suppose," he answered, pretending to be irritated, "But you owe me."

"Thank you!" she stated before going inside the cleansing room to shower.

Megatron just shook his head before lying back down and waiting for her to come out.

* * *

Aurora couldn't help but smile when Optimus leaned over and kissed her before lightly breathing, "Good morning birthday girl."

"Morning," she mumbled back, leaning against him, but as she moved, she felt something in her hand. She opened her hand only to see a necklace in it. She let it dangle from her hand only to see a rose that was encrusted with what looked like rubies for the flower petals and white diamonds for the stem hanging from the thin gold chain. "Optimus…" she breathed, unable to fathom how much something like this would cost, "It's beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you," he said, kissing her again.

She could feel her heart swell inside of her chest as she accepted the kiss from him and let it linger for a bit. When it was through, he helped her put the necklace on. Aurora then got up and admired it in the mirror. It seemed to compliment her dark brunette hair perfectly. She couldn't believe how beautiful it actually made her feel.

Aurora watched in the mirror as Optimus came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. He pulled her against him before kissing her lightly on the neck and saying, "It suits you."

"Optimus, having you is the best birthday present in the world."

She watched in the mirror as he smiled, his hands roaming over her torso. "Aurora," he breathed, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, "What do you say you join me in the shower?"

She felt a stab of panic strike her chest. Taking a shower with him meant cleaning herself in front of him. It meant taking her clothes off and letting him see her naked. It meant there was a possibility for sex.

Slowly, she turned in his arms and faced him. He looked at her expectantly, awaiting her answer. Aurora knew that she could trust him, if she told him to stop, he would. She also wanted Optimus to love every part of her, even the parts of her body that she hid under her clothes. There was no point in waiting, especially since she knew this would happen one day. She loved and trusted Optimus; there was no reason for her to say no. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, providing him with his answer.

Aurora tried not to shiver when he broke the kiss and gently pulled off her shirt. He then went with her inside of the cleansing room and pulled her against him as the door shut. "I love you," he breathed as he unclasped her bra. After he pulled it off, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, feeling a little braver.

Optimus smiled as he kissed her back and slowly worked his hands down to her pajama bottoms. He slowly dipped his fingertips beneath the waistband before he broke the kiss to pull those off as well. He then looked up and saw she was still wearing her panties. He frowned, "Just how many articles of clothing do human females wear?"

She blushed, "I'm only wearing the minimum."

He smiled at her blush before taking her panties off and standing back up, looking her over. "You're beautiful," he breathed before kissing her and pulling her into the shower with him.

Aurora felt better when the warm cleanser fluid poured over her. As she began to clean herself, she watched as Optimus took a step back to watch her, a smirk on his face. She smiled, knowing that he was admiring her. She smirked as she stepped back under the showerhead to let the cleanser fluid rinse the shampoo out of her hair. As she rinsed, she puffed her chest out a little bit more to tease him, and she hadn't so much as done that when Optimus crushed her against him, kissing her forcefully.

She felt his hands roam over her body, igniting sensations she had never felt before. She moaned involuntarily as he gently fondled and teased her breasts. Aurora felt as one of his hands slowly slid down her torso and she gasped when he suddenly slipped a finger inside of her. It hurt a little bit at first, but after a couple minutes, she began to feel pleasure from him. "Optimus…" she breathed as he kissed her neck. It felt like he was putting her in a trance.

"I love you," he breathed as he removed his hand from between her legs and pulled her hips to his, "I won't go any farther than what you want me to, just know that you are hard to resist."

Aurora smiled, feeling happy that he had enough self-control to stop himself. He had delved into the temptation of her body, and though he wanted more, he wouldn't take what she wasn't ready to give up. "Thank you," she said as she leaned against him, "I love you."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. He wasn't sure what it was about her, but no femme had ever completed him like Aurora did, not even Elita.

"Come on," he said, giving her a small nudge, "Finish getting cleaned up, it's going to be a busy day for you."

She smiled, wondering just what else he had in store.

* * *

Megatron groaned as he allowed his chassis to sink down onto his tires so he could relax better. He couldn't believe how hot it was this far north of the Earth's equator. He envied Earth's cars inability to feel as he waited in the parking lot for Angelique to return. He was more than eager to drive; the air going through his systems would cool him.

She wasn't gone more than half an hour, and when she came back out, he opened his door and she got in. He pulled out of the parking lot almost immediately, the pavement hot under his tires. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" she asked.

"Back to the base, it's _hot_," he answered.

"Welcome to upstate New York, home of lake effect blizzards, microbursts, bipolar summers, and sometimes blackouts."

"Is that why your town has windmills?" he asked.

"Nope, we have those for money. The electricity goes down to New York City," she said, "You know, the cashier gave me a funny look when I bought the condoms. She said, 'Don't you think you should wait until you're a little older?'"

Megatron laughed as he pulled up to a red light, "What did you say?"

"Nothing, I just handed her the money."

"How much did it cost?"

"Just over $300."

"For condoms?"

"Well, with the iPod too."

The light switched to green and they went back to the base. Once they got back, Megatron took Angelique back to his room and tried to get her to sit with him on the couch for a few minutes, but she immediately started to wrap the presents she had gotten for her sister. Megatron watched as she sat on the floor armed with tape, scissors, and wrapping paper that screamed, "Happy Birthday!" all over it. He watched, curious, as she wrapped the iPod. After she finished, she looked the package over before frowning and muttering, "I don't know how mom always gets her wrapping to turn out perfect."

Megatron smiled before he got up and sat behind her, pulling her against his front and kissing her neck. "Megatron…" she breathed as she leaned against him.

He leaned forward and grabbed the box of condoms and some wrapping paper before he proceeded to wrap the box perfectly and handed it to Angelique. She frowned, "Show off. You used that computer brain of yours to measure the paper perfectly."

He chuckled, "You have a computer brain too, Angelique. But now that you're done with that, I want you."

Angelique wasn't quite sure what happened. He was behind her one second, the next second she was pinned to the floor beneath him. "Well," she said as he leaned closer to her, "I guess I don't have a choice."

He smiled as he kissed her. Angelique accepted the kiss and felt as he deepened it. He parted her lips before sliding his tongue inside her mouth. A few long moments later, he pulled away, smiling gently. "I wish I told you sooner how I felt about you," he breathed, "I live for these moments."

She smiled and he got off of her before helping her to her feet. "I think I'm going to go give Aurora the condoms now so that mom and dad don't see them. They'll kill me if they found out I got her condoms. Want to come with me?"

"I'll stay here and get some paperwork done—

There was a sudden meow as Figaro suddenly appeared from under the berth and ran over to Angelique. She picked up the kitten and held him, petting him gently. Megatron just shook his head before saying, "Of course the hell-spawn demon will go with you."

"He's not a demon, he's a cute and cuddly little baby," she cooed at the kitten as it began to purr. She proceeded to pick up the wrapped up box of condoms.

"You hear that sound its making?" Megatron remarked, "It's really a bomb with fur on it."

She just laughed before going over to the door, "I'll be back later." And she left.

* * *

Aurora had just finished drying her hair when there was a knock on the door. Optimus answered the door while Aurora proceeded to brush her hair. When the Autobot leader opened the door, he wasn't surprised to see Angelique standing there, but she seemed surprised that he had answered the door. Her surprise quickly faded as she greeted him saying, "'Sup homey?"

He raised an optic ridge, "What?"

"Uh…is Aurora there?"

Aurora appeared beside him and smiled before saying, "Hey Angelique, what's up?"

"Happy birthday!" the younger sister squealed before hugging her, squishing Figaro between them. She then handed her the present and said, "I got you something. Open it!"

"I'm not sure I want to," Aurora mused as she ripped the wrapping paper off. When she realized what it was, she rolled her eyes saying, "A box of condoms…really?"

"I figured you and Optimus could use them," she said, "I could of gotten the one with the vibrating ring thing…but I figured that Optimus is good enough in bed without it."

Optimus chuckled as Aurora's eye twitched. She proceeded to hand the box of condoms back to her sister before saying, "Angelique, take these to Megatron, okay? Tell him you need to get laid."

"Why Megatron?" she asked.

"Because I'm sure he would sleep with you," Aurora remarked.

She sighed, "Well, I guess I'll go bother Megatron then. I'll see you around." And she ran off.

Aurora just shook her head.

* * *

Megatron heard the door open and close and peeked out of his office door only to see Angelique was back. He watched as she set Figaro down on the floor and noticed that she had an unwrapped box of condoms in hand. "I take it she didn't like the gift," he said before looking back to his paperwork.

"She told me to give them to you," Angelique remarked as she stood in the doorway of his office, "Well, those weren't her exact words."

"What did she say?" he asked.

"She told me to take them to you and tell you that I need to get laid."

He laughed before he got up and walked up to her. "You know," he said as he grasped her hips, "My bed is right over there."

"You know I'm not ready."

"I think you are."

"Megatron…"

She looked up at him as he took the box of condoms out of her hand and tossed it over to his desk. "Not now," he whispered, "But I will have you eventually, I won't wait forever."

Angelique leaned against him, wrapping her arms around him. She didn't agree with him, but she didn't disagree either. She maintained her silence as she held him, not ever wanting to let him go.

* * *

Later that evening, Aurora had a small party to celebrate her 18th birthday party. She was surprised to see that Angelique had gotten her an iPod Touch, but she was grateful for it anyway. After her parents left, Optimus hesitated. He had bought Aurora another gift and he contemplated giving it to her now, but he wasn't sure. If he did, it would change both of their lives forever. He would wait until after Angelique left to give it to her anyways, he wanted this intimate moment to be private and only witnessed by him and Aurora.

"So Angelique, how come Megatron didn't come?" he remarked, initiating an effort to get rid of her.

"I tried to get him to come," the teenager replied, "But he said it would be better if he didn't."

"What's he up to?" he asked.

Angelique looked at him quizzically before answering, "I don't know."

"You should go see."

"Well, if you wanted me to leave so you could have a moment with Aurora; all you had to do was say so. You know I don't like being a third wheel," she said as she stood up.

She went to exit the room when the doors suddenly opened. She could hear Jetfire saying, "Uh, you probably shouldn't go in there right now, you see—

A female voice cut him off saying, "It's alright Jetfire, when he sees me, he'll understand."

The commotion caused Aurora and Optimus to look towards the door, and Optimus felt his tanks churn when an all too familiar pink femme suddenly walked in. He watched as Aurora's expression dropped in horror before she looked to him, panic in her eyes. He suddenly felt dizzy and his spark felt like it was in knots. This _wasn't_ supposed to happen. The Autobot leader swallowed hard, trying to figure out what to say, but only one word came out of his mouth, a word he never thought he would have to breathe again.

"Elita…"

* * *

XD  
Happy New Year everyone! Please review! I'll try to have part two up soon.


	28. A Vision in Pink Part II

Well, this chapter was much longer than what I originally anticipated, but I hope I didn't keep you guys waiting too long. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter, it means a lot to me. I hope you guys enjoy this one! This is probably going to be the last update until around mid to late March, college starts back up on Tuesday. If I can update sooner, I will.

* * *

**Chapter 28: A Vision in Pink**

**Part II**

Aurora wanted to scream.

She wanted to cry, she wanted to pour herself all over Optimus, she wanted to run until she couldn't run any farther, she wanted to sink into the chair she was sitting in, she wanted to throw up, she just didn't want to be here, and more than anything, she wanted to believe that none of this was happening.

"Happy to see me?" the pink femme asked before heading over to the couch where Optimus was sitting.

"Elita," Optimus said again, trying to convince himself that she was really there, "Where have you been? I thought you were dead."

"No, I wasn't dead," she answered.

Angelique could see the panic in Aurora's eyes and couldn't begin to imagine the emotions her sister was currently experiencing. "Hey Elita," she piped up as she grabbed the pink femme by the arm, "Why don't I show you around the base? Optimus is a little busy here."

Elita pulled her arm back before saying sternly, "Sorry, but I don't let insignificant _gynoids_ touch me."

Angelique clenched her teeth together and before the younger sibling could unleash her fury, Optimus remarked, "Angelique, you were leaving."

"You're letting her get away with insulting me?" she seethed.

"Angelique, just go."

"What about her?" she asked, pointing to her sister.

The Autobot leader sighed heavily before looking to Aurora and saying with a stern look upon his face, "Aurora, please go. I'd like to talk with Elita…alone."

All at once, Aurora felt her heart shatter. She knew that nothing good would happen if Optimus wished to speak with his former mate alone. If he couldn't say what was going on with her in the room, then she knew it was over. Without a word, she got up from where she was sitting. She didn't look at anyone as she walked out. As soon as the doors closed behind her, she took off running in a blind, angry rage. She didn't stop until she reached Optimus' room, and once inside, she began rummaging through the drawers, gathering up everything she owned.

It took a few trips, but she managed to get all of her belongings back into her room. Aurora then went back to the Autobot leader's room one last time to make sure she had gotten everything out. When she knew she had everything, she scribbled out a quick note and left it on Optimus' desk. She then removed the necklace that he had given her from around her neck and set it on top of the note before leaving the room.

She wouldn't be needing it anymore.

* * *

Angelique didn't say a word when she walked back into Megatron's room. She knew that her sister needed to be alone right now; she would give her a little while to vent before she tried to find her. She was so angry at Optimus for allowing this to happen that she barely heard Megatron ask from the couch, "How was the party?"

She glanced over at him only to witness him turn off the television. She felt compelled to go to him and melt in his arms and cry, but at the same time, she wanted to smash something to pieces. Megatron watched as she looked away from him and to the floor, her expression blank, but her eyes seemed to scream hatred for something. "Angelique?" he prompted when she didn't answer.

She felt tears rush to her eyes and she immediately hated herself for crying. She had never been able to figure out why she cried whenever she got really angry. And she felt like she had no right to cry. Tonight was her sister's night to cry.

Angelique felt sudden relief when she felt Megatron suddenly wrap his arms around her and pull her against him tightly. She didn't know how he managed to get over to her so quickly, but she didn't care. She was grateful for what he was doing.

"Whoever upset you, I'll make them _pay_," he said sternly, his voice dripping with anger.

"I shouldn't be crying," she remarked as she wiped away her tears, "I'm just so angry at Optimus that I don't know what else to do."

A flicker of surprise went through his optics before he exclaimed, "Optimus is the one who made you feel like this?"

"I don't know how, but Elita is back. She just waltzed right into the hangout like she had every reason in the world to be there. I tried to get her to leave, but she insulted me, and then Optimus kicked both Aurora and me out so that he could be alone with _her_."

"That's not like Optimus. What did Elita say to you?"

"I grabbed her by the arm and she said that she didn't let insignificant gynoids touch her," she explained.

"Well, she will be hearing from me, as will Optimus. Do you think Optimus will leave your sister?"

"I don't know, but if he leaves her for the pink bitch, I swear to God I will punch him in the face _so hard_ that he won't know what hit him and I'll rip Elita apart."

Megatron smirked, "I think you have been hanging around me for too long."

"Yeah, well, nobody does that to my sister and gets away with it," Angelique said as she took out her phone and sent her sister a quick text, "Will you kill Elita for me?"

"If you believe it is necessary, I will."

"Really?"

He smiled before giving her a quick kiss. He truly didn't know if he would, but he didn't want to confirm or deny it. Instead he guided Angelique over to his berth before saying, "Let's just forget all of this for right now, alright? Try to relax."

Angelique couldn't help but smile at the irony of Megatron telling her to relax, but she did as she said and lay down on the berth. The Decepticon leader got into the berth beside her and carefully took her in his arms, holding her against him. Angelique was surprised that such a small action could bring her so much comfort. She closed her eyes, trying to forget about what happened, hoping that her sister would be okay.

"Are you really going to go after Optimus?" she asked, "He'll know we're together then, and I know you want to keep our relationship a secret."

"The only reason I want to keep it a secret is so that we don't get heckled," he replied, and she listened as his voice seemed to rumble inside of him, "I wanted some time to enjoy us without others getting involved, but that will be unavoidable. I'll talk to Optimus in the morning and see what happens."

"Thank you," she breathed.

He smiled as he allowed his optics to go offline.

* * *

Aurora looked at her phone when it vibrated, but she was afraid to read what the text message she received said. Holding her breath, she went to her phone's inbox and sighed, relieved when she saw that the text was from her sister. It said:

_If you need anything, even just to talk, I'm only a text message away._

Aurora figured her sister would be the best person to talk to; she had had boyfriends in the past and would have the best advice on how to cope with a broken heart. But right now, she didn't know what to say, all she knew how to do was cry, and she was so sick of doing that. She tried to keep herself busy and her mind off of Optimus by unpacking her things and rearranging them inside of her room, but the very act of doing that made her feel sick to her stomach.

She couldn't decide what the worst part was, whether it was pretending that nothing had ever happened between her and Optimus or if it was the fact that he so willingly tossed her aside when Elita did come back.

"_Optimus, what happened to Elita?"_

"_You know about her?"_

"_Yes…"_

"_She just…disappeared one day. I believe her to be dead, but I don't know. I haven't heard from her for vorns and vorns. It doesn't matter anyway…I don't miss her. She's nothing more than a distant memory now."_

So much for a distant memory. Aurora wiped her tears away knowing that it was useless, as soon as she had wiped her tears away, more came to replace them. She didn't know how, but she managed to finish putting away all of her stuff. She sighed heavily as she sat back on her bed, trying not to think it was the worst birthday of her life. She checked the time on her phone. It was nine o'clock at night, only a couple hours had gone by. She didn't want to try to sleep for fear of dreaming and waking up by herself.

It had only been two hours and she was sick of being alone.

* * *

Angelique was receiving one of the most passionate kisses of her life when her phone suddenly vibrated inside her pocket. She heard Megatron groan before breaking the kiss momentarily in order to ask, "Do you have to answer it?"

She took her phone out of her pocket only to see that it was Aurora calling. Angelique sat up before answering the phone and saying, "Hey, what's up?"

"Um…" Aurora remarked as she tried to keep herself together, "Are you busy?"

"No," she replied, immediately softening her voice. She knew her sister well enough to know she was very upset at the moment. "You okay?" she asked gently.

"Heh…don't ask that right now," she responded, wiping away another wave of tears.

"I'm sorry; you want me to come over?"

"Do you think it would be alright if I came over instead? I don't want to be in my room and I certainly don't want to go to the hangout."

"I'd have to ask Megatron," she said and immediately felt guilty for revealing that.

"You're with him?" she asked.

"Uh, yes."

"Oh…well, then never mind I don't want to impose—

"No, hold on," Angelique said before looking to Megatron and asking, "Can Aurora come over?"

Megatron sighed heavily, he didn't really want her over, but he knew that Angelique was trying to make her feel better. They were sisters after all. "I suppose if she wants to," he replied. He felt better about his decision when he saw the smile light up Angelique's eyes.

"You can come over!" she said excitedly, "We'll watch movies and…well we won't make popcorn because we can't eat it anymore, but we can do other stuff. Okay?"

"Okay, I'll be over in a few minutes."

"See you in a bit then!" Angelique exclaimed and listened as her sister hung up.

"Well," Megatron said, "This will certainly be interesting."

"It's your first sleepover with girls! How does that make you feel?" she asked, grinning.

"You don't want to know," he said, "Just don't ask me to participate in any makeovers or get involved with anything to do with the word pink."

"Trust me," Angelique said, trying to reassure him, "The color pink has already caused enough problems."

He knew what she meant, but he didn't want to talk anymore. Instead he sat up and cupped her face in his hand before pressing his lips back against hers, reigniting the passionate kiss they had been sharing prior to when Aurora called.

* * *

Aurora had never felt more awkward in life than when she knocked on Megatron's door. She had felt more comfortable being naked in front of Optimus. She only prayed that Megatron wasn't the one who answered the door. To her relief, it was Angelique that answered the door and said, "Come in!"

The older sibling stepped into the room and the door closed behind her. She glanced around, but didn't see Megatron around anywhere. She then noticed that the door to his office was closed so she figured he was in there working, even though it was really late to be working. Trying to make herself at home, she sat down on the couch and stared at the black television screen.

"Want to watch a movie?" Angelique asked, "We could watch a blood and guts horror one so that we don't have to watch romantic stuff."

"Sure, but just as long as it's not too bloody, I know how you are about blood."

"What about Paranormal Activity?"

"Alright," she said and watched as Angelique put the movie in the DVD player before asking, "Where's Megatron at?"

She pointed to his office before saying, "He didn't want to make you feel out of place."

"I suppose that's nice of him, but this is his room, he can come out," Aurora said and then she asked, "Do you live with him?"

"Sort of."

"Do you sleep with him?"

Angelique tried desperately to fight back a blush. "Sometimes," she said, "I've never had sex with him if that's what you mean."

"Tell him he can come out."

"Are you sure?"

Aurora nodded, "Yeah. This movie will probably get us screaming anyway, so he'll probably end up coming out to see what's going on."

Angelique went over to his office door before knocking and saying, "My lovely lordship, your presence has been requested. We're watching a horror film and we'll need you to chase away any possible monsters and demons that may or may not come out of the television screen."

The door opened revealing the Decepticon leader. He crossed his arms before saying, "How many times do I have to tell you that monsters and demons don't come out of television screens?"

"Well, you were a toy and you came to life, so anything is possible."

He sighed heavily before saying, "Alright, but this movie better be worth watching."

"I think it is."

Megatron gave the command for the lights to go out and Aurora moved over on the couch. Megatron sat on the very end while Angelique sat in the middle. Aurora hit play on the remote and they began watching the movie.

* * *

Optimus _hated_ pink.

He had forgotten how much he hated it up until now that Elita was back and trying to wrap her terrifyingly pink arms around him. He stood, facing her, but not accepting her embrace. There were quite a few questions that he had for her, but there was one thing he needed to tell her that was more important than anything else. He just hoped that she would give him the chance to say it.

"You've changed a lot since I've last seen you," she said, "You want to show me around? We can catch up while doing so."

"Elita," he said, "Things have changed since you've been gone."

"Yes," she replied, "I know." She placed a hand on his.

Optimus wanted to shudder at her touch; it was so familiar and foreign. It was the same as he had once known it to be, it wasn't like Aurora's gentle and unsure hand. Elita's was demanding, forceful. But he didn't retract his hand from hers.

"Why didn't you try to contact me to let me know you were still alive?"

She seemed offended by the question. Optimus immediately sensed that she was trying to hide something. "If you weren't killed, that means you left," he said, "Why did you leave?"

She took her hand away from his before asking, "What's your policy on forgiveness?"

"You went off with someone else, didn't you?"

"Optimus," she said, almost scolding him, "You _left_ me on Cybertron. You wouldn't let me come and help you fight, something I was created to do. You wouldn't let me come and be with you."

"I didn't want anything to happen to you."

"I thought you didn't want me anymore."

"So you went off with someone else instead of trying to establish communication with me?"

"I thought he wanted me," she confessed, almost pleading now.

"But you realized I treated you better."

"Optimus, you have to understand."

"Elita is been _millennia_ since I've last seen you, let alone heard from—

"I was hoping that if I came here and you saw my face then you would remember."

"I do remember," he said, "I do remember everything we went through, all the good and the bad; I remember how I felt about you."

She stepped closer to him as a flicker of hope went across her face. "So you haven't forgotten me?" she asked.

"No, but I have moved on." There, he said it. He watched as the hope immediately disappeared from her face.

"What do you mean?" she asked, but it was more of a demand.

"I've fallen in love with someone else, someone who I know won't leave me and come back centuries later to try and tell me they were wrong."

"Optimus…"

"I'm sorry Elita," but he really wasn't sorry for anything.

She looked up at him, surprised and dumbfounded. "Who is it that you've fallen in love with?" she wanted to know, "Is it one of those disgusting gynoids?"

Optimus frowned before saying, "One of those disgusting gynoids I have every intention of making my spark mate."

"It's the one you addressed as Aurora, isn't it?" Elita demanded bitterly.

"You will not go near her."

"Optimus, how could you do this to me?"

"You have a lot of nerve to be asking me that considering what you did to me."

"What about the other girl?" she asked.

Optimus wasn't sure why Elita would want to know about her as he answered, "Megatron is entertaining feelings for her."

"I don't believe it. If this is how it's going to be then I _won't _stay here."

But that didn't come as a loss to Optimus, only a relief as he said, "Then I will show you to the door."

She just glared at him before turning on heel and leaving the hangout. She would show herself to the door, she didn't need Optimus to do it. If he didn't want her anymore, she would find someone else that did.

The Autobot leader sighed in relief after she left. He made sure she headed in the direction of the exit before he turned and went to find Aurora. He knew finding her was his top priority before she got the wrong idea of what had happened between him and Elita. He went back to his room first, but he didn't find Aurora there. However, his room did seem slightly emptier. He checked the dressers only to realize that none of her clothes were there. Panic tugged at his spark as he glanced around.

A gleam caught his eye from his office. Curious, he went inside only to notice the necklace that he had given Aurora for her birthday. He felt sick when he noticed the note beneath it. Nervously, he lifted it only to read:

_I'm sorry I'm just an insignificant gynoid. I'm sorry I'm not Elita. I'm sorry I believed you._

The note fell to the floor as Optimus rushed out of the room. He had to find Aurora, and soon.

* * *

"I can't watch anymore!" Angelique finally shrieked as she turned the movie off.

"Come on," Megatron groaned, "There wasn't that much left."

"It was torture to watch. You can finish it on your own time," she said before glancing over to her sister, only to notice that she seemed kind of distant, "Hey, you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah…" Aurora replied and then shook her head, trying desperately to hold back a sob, "Okay I lied. Do you…have a box of tissues?"

Angelique went and got her one before sitting back on the couch. "Sorry," Aurora breathed as she dabbed a few tears away.

"You don't have to be sorry," Angelique said, "He was a jerk and he hurt you. You have every right to cry."

"How long does it hurt?"

"Every heartbreak is different. And to be honest, you never really get over it; you just bury it a little deeper until you forget about it."

"That's not very reassuring…"

"Well, at least you didn't have sex with him."

Aurora didn't say anything, which caused Angelique to look to her surprised. "Did you have sex with him?"

"We…did some stuff," she admitted.

"Whoa!" Angelique remarked, completely surprised, "How was that?"

"I don't want to know," Megatron said.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh…that bad?"

"No…Angelique! Will you _listen_ to me? It doesn't matter what happened between us because now _she's_ back and Optimus would rather spend his time with her."

Right after she said that, a phone began vibrating. Angelique felt her pockets trying to find her phone before asking, "Is that me or is that you?"

"It's me," Aurora said as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked to see who was calling, "Oh…perfect."

"Who is it?" Angelique asked.

"Optimus."

"I'll handle this," the younger sibling replied as she took her sister's phone. She answered saying, "Hello?"

"Angelique?" Optimus asked, surprised that she answered and Aurora didn't, "Where's your sister?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Angelique I don't have time for games. I need to talk to her."

Angelique put him on speaker phone before asking, "About what?"

"That's between us. Will you please tell me where she is?"

"If you can't find her then she probably doesn't want to be found by you right now."

"Well," Optimus said, "If you have her phone that must mean she is with you. That means she's either in your room or Megatron's."

Angelique frowned, "What do you have to tell her?"

"It's about Elita."

"Elita's not with you, is she?"

"No."

"Come to Megatron's room, but be careful about what you plan to say," Angelique said before hanging up.

Aurora looked to Angelique with a desperate look on her face. If he was coming to break up with her, which she fully expected, then she didn't want Megatron and her sister to witness it. Angelique, however, tried to reassure her sister by saying, "If he tries to break up with you, I'll have Megatron break his face. Sound good?"

"Not really," Aurora said just as there was a knock on the door. She suddenly felt like panicking, Optimus had come much sooner than what she expected.

"Who wants to get it?" Megatron asked.

Aurora shook her head, she felt sick. Angelique looked to Megatron before saying, "If I look at him, I might kill him."

"In that case," Megatron said as he got up from the couch and went over to the door. He opened it only to reveal Optimus.

"Where is she?" the Autobot leader asked.

"Hanging out on the couch," the Decepticon leader replied and then lowered his voice so that only Optimus could hear, "You'll have to come in and talk to her since I don't think she's together enough to come to you."

Optimus went to take a step into the room but Megatron stopped him. The Autobot leader looked to him surprised before Megatron said, "After this is over, I would like to have a word with you."

"Somebody's in trouble!" Angelique chirped.

"Angelique, come here," Megatron said sternly.

"Uh oh…now I'm in trouble," she remarked as she slowly got up and went to the Decepticon leader.

Megatron then stepped aside and let Optimus come in. He took Angelique and went with her into his bedroom where he shut the door, allowing Optimus and Aurora their privacy. "Aw, come on," Angelique whined, "I want to see what happens."

"Let them have their privacy," Megatron said, "I'm sure your sister doesn't want any witnesses."

"Can I at least peek?"

"Angelique."

"Alright…I'll be good."

* * *

When Aurora's eyes met Optimus' gaze, she wanted to sink inside of the couch and through the floor. She was scared to death of what he had to say. She didn't know he could possibly hurt her more when his actions had already cut through her like a knife. She wished she were deaf.

"Aurora," he breathed as he approached her.

Her body reacted before her mind did. She stood, facing him, eyeing the distance between her and the door and just what her chances of escape were. Of all places, she didn't want to be trapped by Optimus in _Megatron's_ quarters. She was at least thankful that Megatron understood that she wanted her privacy. If she was going to be hurt, she didn't want anyone to see it. She'd rather suffer through the humiliation alone.

"Don't leave."

Aurora looked to Optimus and saw the pleading glimmer shining in his optics, she saw fear, she saw uncertainty, she saw shame. She knew he wasn't one to beg, she doubted he had ever begged for anything in his life, and here he was, pleading with her to stay.

"Optimus," she whispered and allowed him to come up to her. She let his hands find hers, she half wanted to melt against him, to let him take her in his arms, forever, unconditionally, and let him kiss her grief away. No words ever had to be spoken between them again; his actions could be his apology, his desperate plea for forgiveness.

"Aurora, you have to know I love you."

Those words hurt her the most yet brought her the most joy. Tears escaped her eyes and he caught them, gently wiping them away. "Don't cry," he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

"Optimus, this has been the _worst_ birthday of my life," she managed to say, but she felt like she was choking.

"It's not over yet," he said, "I still had something to give you before you-know-who walked in."

Before she could say anything, Aurora watched as Optimus Prime dropped down to one knee before her. He held onto one of her hands with both of his, determined to make her stay and hear him out. "Aurora," he said, "I got the note you left me. I know what you are thinking. I need you to know that everything I've told you has not been a lie. I have always loved you, I still love you, I will _always_ love you with everything that I am, and I can only pray that is enough for you."

"Optimus, you kicked me out, you told me to leave—

"I needed to speak to Elita alone, to tell her the truth."

"What truth?" she asked, "That you have always loved her too? That you still love her, that you will _always_ love her just as much as me, if not more?" She watched as anger glittered across his beautiful golden optics.

"Elita left," he growled, "Elita left because I told her that I moved on. I told her I fell in love with you, that there's nobody else that I want except for _you_. I would _never_ lie to you, Aurora. If you don't believe me, then you can review the security tapes, but I give you my word."

"Optimus…" she breathed, feeling guilty that she had ever doubted him. She wouldn't review the security tapes because she knew that he wasn't a liar. But his next move sent her heart straight to her throat.

He pulled a small black box out of his subspace and opened it, revealing a simple diamond ring, yet the most beautiful diamond ring that she had ever seen. "I know it might be soon to do this yet," he said, "But now I see the importance of this. On Cybertron, we don't have anything to symbolize our personal commitments to one another, but I've looked into traditions that you have here on Earth, and I feel this is appropriate."

"Optimus…are you…"

"Aurora, be my spark mate. I will ask you a thousand times until you agree. All I want is a lifetime of you by my side. Let me show you how much I love you, forever. And all I ask is that you love me just as much as I love you."

Aurora was so shocked that she didn't know how to react, she had her answer, but she could not get the words to leave her mind and travel out of her mouth. She could only stand there, her heart swelling inside of her chest, her mouth agape in astonishment. Here she thought he had come here to break up with her and instead, he proposed. She wanted to laugh at herself for being so afraid, for crying over nothing.

"Yes," she finally managed to say, "I will."

He slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. It fit perfectly. Aurora didn't get a chance to admire the ring though as Optimus stood and immediately captured her lips with his in a fiery kiss, the most passionate kiss Aurora had ever received in her whole life.

* * *

"Hey Megatron," Angelique remarked as she peeked out the door the instant he turned his back, "Aurora and Optimus are sucking face so hard that it might lead to them trying to make a baby on your couch."

"That's enough to make me want to purge my tanks," Megatron said as he peeked out the door as well before he said, "I thought I told you not to peek."

"At the moment, you're as guilty as I am."

He smirked devilishly, but Angelique didn't see it since he was standing behind her. She gave a small yelp when he suddenly closed the door and pulled her into his arms. He forced his lips against hers, igniting a fiery kiss of their own. However, neither of them were prepared when the door suddenly swooshed open a few long moments later, revealing Optimus and Aurora.

"Whoa!" Aurora exclaimed as she witnessed the passionate moment between her sister and the Decepticon leader.

"Don't you know how to knock?" Megatron growled as he broke away from Angelique.

"Busted…" was all Angelique could say.

"Megatron…did you tell Angelique?" Optimus asked.

The Decepticon leader sighed heavily, deciding the secret was out of the bag. "Yes," he finally responded, "But since it seems you and Aurora have worked out your differences, I feel it's fair of me to say that if you _ever_ let that pink ex-bimbo _slut_ of yours get away with upsetting Angelique as much as she did again, you will _not_ like me."

"Don't worry," Optimus said, "It won't happen again."

"So," Aurora mused, "When did you and Angelique become an item?"

But before her question could be answered, the younger sibling gasped and grabbed Aurora's left hand exclaiming, "_Look_ at the rock on your finger!"

Aurora blushed before saying modestly, "I know."

"Optimus, did you—

"Yes," he replied, smiling.

Angelique squealed in delight before hugging the Autobot leader and saying, "Do you know what this means? You're going to be my broski!"

Megatron was quick to peel her off of Optimus and tuck her under his arm saying, "I'm sure Optimus will be thrilled to have _you_ as an in-law."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Angelique asked.

Optimus just smiled as he wrapped his arm tightly around Aurora, never feeling more complete in his life. For once, everything in the base seemed like how it should be.

At peace.

* * *

Let me know what you think! Until the next chapter! :D


	29. Joey Part I

So, it's been a while since I last updated, but that's me stating the obvious. I figured I should delve into Joey and Starscream's relationship a little bit, so here we go with another two parter. Maybe three, but I'll try to keep it down to two parts. Anyways, I'll stop rambling now so you can read. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 29: Joey**

**Part I**

When Aurora woke the next morning by Optimus' side, she had never felt so blessed. The night before she witnessed how easily the Autobot leader could have been taken from her, but his affections were strong enough to make him stay. Even though he had proposed, she loved him most for the fact that he had stayed by her side and proved just how much he loved her. It was a love that couldn't fill the universe since the universe was too small. She gave a small smile as she snuggled closer to her love.

"Good morning," he whispered, kissing the top of her head with his warm lips.

"Good morning," she whispered back.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he held her tighter in his arms. After the events that transpired last night, it was a valid question to ask.

"I feel so happy," she replied, "That's all I feel, bubbling over with happiness and love."

Optimus smiled and kissed her before saying, "I wish I could make you feel like that forever. I'm still trying to figure out how Elita found our base."

"I…think I know," Aurora admitted slowly.

"Oh?"

"A few weeks ago I sent out a transmission telling any other Autobots and Decepticons that the war was over and I said where our base was. That was why Barricade showed up, and I wouldn't doubt that's the same reason why Elita showed up."

"That only goes to show that when you made the wish for us to come to life, transformers from all over the globe must have come to life as well."

"So the secret of your existence won't stay a secret forever."

"Probably not," Optimus confessed, "Things will change if that ever happens. I don't want to lose you."

She smiled softly, "You won't."

He pulled her closer to him as he wrapped his arms around her. He didn't ever want to let her go.

* * *

"Oh yes, you're _so_ cute."

Megatron let his optics come online as he woke up. His back was to Angelique, but he swore he heard her voice, that was what had woken him up.

"I love you so much," she said, speaking in a voice that was too low. She was baby talking him.

Megatron smiled, listening.

"You're so handsome and warm and fluffy," she continued.

"Fluffy?" Megatron mouthed. He rolled over only to see Figaro sprawled out on the bed, purring wildly as Angelique gently petted him. He frowned, "You're talking to him?"

She chuckled, "Who'd you think I was talking to?"

"Me," he said, "Until you said the word fluffy."

"If you were a human you'd be fluffy."

"Well, I'm not a human and I don't plan on being one," he said as Figaro jumped off the bed. Megatron then pulled Angelique to him.

"What's wrong with being a human?" she asked as he leaned in to kiss her.

"No human will ever be lucky enough to spend forever with you," he replied as he gently kissed her.

Angelique smiled before accepting the kiss. She didn't know if he planned on spending forever with her, they had only been together for a little over a week; it was too soon to say anything like that. But his words still were appreciated and still melted her heart just the same.

"I love you," she breathed.

Megatron grinned and deepened the kiss, suddenly remembering the first time he ever saw her naked. He remembered the surprise he felt when he pulled back the blanket after discovering her in the med bay. He remembered he was so surprised that he couldn't move to put the blanket back over her. Her body was so soft…so _precious_ looking. His curiosity had aroused him, and now…

"Can I shower with you?" he asked quietly.

"Megatron…"

"Nothing will happen," he said, trying to reassure her.

Angelique was well aware that Megatron had wanted to see her naked for quite some time. Ever since he accidentally saw her naked body in the med bay he had tried more than once to get under her clothes. She knew he was attracted to her, there was no denying that. She just wanted him to love her for who she was, not for her body. Her heart seemed to constrict inside her chest.

"You do love me, right?" she asked quietly, but deep down inside she felt like she was going to cry.

"Why are you asking that?" he replied just as quietly, an angry and hurt look suddenly appearing in his optics.

"Because you always want me naked." She realized after she said that that it sounded stupid.

"Angelique," he remarked as he pulled her closer, "I may be leader of the Decepticons, but I'm not that shallow. I'm not asking for sex."

Angelique knew that if she let him see her naked it could lead to sex. She looked at him, trusting the look in his optics. She felt like if she never looked away from the gaze he held in his optics now that she would never have to be afraid again. She sighed heavily, knowing deep down inside that no matter what they did, it wouldn't hurt anything. A few months ago, when Megatron was still a plastic collector's piece gathering dust on her shelf, she would have given anything for this moment.

She gave a small smirk before saying, "Maybe later."

A disappointed look went across his face as she got up and disappeared inside the cleansing room. Megatron sighed heavily, glaring at the door to the cleansing room. He listened as Angelique showered for fifteen minutes; he listened as she dried her hair for another ten minutes. For the next few minutes, there was nothing but complete silence, which peaked the Decepticon leader's curiosity. Without warning, the door to the cleansing room opened and Angelique came out wrapped in a towel, a small blush on her face. He smirked wickedly.

"I forgot my clothes…" she said shyly.

"I think you should forget them for a little while longer," he replied, willing with every ounce of his being for the towel to fall, "Come back to bed with me."

Angelique liked the way his voice sounded, suave and heavy, like a purr, but deep and demanding like thunder. She liked the way he sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for her, hoping for her, wanting her. Slowly, she walked over to him and stopped when she was directly in front of him. Megatron noticed how the towel hugged her small frame, she obviously was holding it tightly around her so that if he tried to pull it off he couldn't. He was envious of the towel since it was closer to her than he was. He looked up at her just as the towel seemed to sigh and release Angelique before gently sliding down the soft curves of her body and collecting on the floor around her ankles.

It was just like the first time he saw her naked, except this time, she was all his.

Slowly, Megatron reached out, grasping her hip. Oh, she felt much more beautiful than she looked. He pulled her down onto the bed, pinning her beneath him as his hands were finally allowed to go where only his optics could go before. He kissed her like he had never kissed her before, his hands becoming lost in the gentle curves of her synthetic flesh. He wanted to know every single part of her and he wanted to be the only one who ever did.

Angelique almost wished she had done this sooner. The way he was making her feel was irreplaceable. As his fingertips gently caressed over her body, he was heightening her senses in a way they never had been before. She felt beautiful, she felt alive, she felt wanted, she felt loved, she felt complete. He grabbed, he fondled, he caressed nearly every inch of her with not only his hands but his lips as well. She could hear his systems humming, knowing that he was highly aroused, but he was doing well to control himself. Finally though, after a few more minutes, he released her as he breathed heavily, "Go get dressed before I ask you to do more than what you want."

She did as he said and got up from the bed and went and dressed herself, Megatron watching her as she did so. He eventually couldn't take it anymore though and went to the cleansing room to relieve himself. When she finished dressing, Angelique went over to the door to the cleansing room and listened. She could hear the shower running, but above the sound of the shower she heard him grunt softly and she knew what he had done. A blush went to her face as a light, yet powerful feeling of love and flattery pulsed through her heart. She smiled as she moved away from the door and proceeded to make the bed and clean up the rest of the room.

* * *

He would not stop calling.

Joey frowned as she tried to keep her constantly vibrating phone from Starscream's knowledge. Whenever she was alone with Starscream, she would turn her phone off, just so that he wouldn't hear it vibrating. She didn't want to tell him that some members of the gang she had previously worked with, the same gang that struck a deal with Kenneth McGuire, and the gang that kidnapped Aurora and Angelique, some members had been released on bail. Their leader, Cutthroat as he liked to be called, her ex-boyfriend, was now trying to find her. Joey, however, did not want to be found.

That morning, her phone was already humming. Starscream was still sleeping so Joey thought it would be okay to turn her phone on. However, she already had several unread messages from her ex.

_Baby  
Come on  
Jo, will you answer me?  
I'm not leaving without you._

_Please stop texting and calling me. I'm not going anywhere with you anymore. You already kicked me out._

_Don't say that.  
Did you find someone else?_

_Yes._

_You know you can never do better than me, Jo.  
I'm gonna kill him.  
I'm gonna kill you too. You DON'T leave me._

_Leave me alone. I'll call the cops._

_You don't wanna do that. I'm gonna find you, you bitch. I'm gonna make you pay._

He called, but she didn't answer. She let it ring and he proceeded to call a couple more times. He didn't leave a voicemail. Instead he texted her again.

_You're gonna talk to me, Jo. You're gonna come with me. You BELONG to me. If I can't find you, I'll get those new friends of yours, Aurora and Angelique. I'll kill them. I'll KILL ALL OF THEM until I get you…_

"You sure are popular," Starscream's tired voice suddenly said as he rolled over to face her, "Who are you talking to?"

Joey was so shocked that he was awake that she jumped at the sound of his voice and dropped her phone into the folds of the covers, causing the Decepticon second in command to lightly laugh at her. Joey panicked as he picked up her phone and stared at it for a moment, acting like he was going to go through her messages. To her relief, he didn't, and as he handed the phone back to her she said, "It's just an old friend that I haven't talked to in a while."

"Really?" he asked with a skeptical look on his face.

"Trust me, if I were in any kind of danger I'd let you know," she said.

"Right…"

Joey smiled and gave him a light punch, but it ended up hurting her hand more than it hurt him. He laughed at her as he pulled her close to him, "When are you going to learn that my metal body is so much stronger than your flesh one?"

"Funny, I've never heard you complain about my body before."

Starscream smirked, "It would be better if I could actually have sex with you."

"Ouch, that hurts."

He shrugged, "I'm going back to sleep."

"I think I'm going to go shopping with Angelique or Aurora today."

"Buy something sexy."

"What's the point, you can't have sex with me anyway."

"…Touché."

Joey just smiled as she stepped into the shower.

* * *

Angelique couldn't help but feel sexy as she felt Megatron's optics on her as he worked from his office doing paperwork. She also couldn't help a small smile when there was a knock on the door and the Decepticon leader groaned, obviously disappointed that he couldn't stare at her anymore. She went over and answered the door only to reveal Joey standing there.

"Hey stranger," Angelique said, "Come in."

Joey stepped inside and plopped herself down on the couch. "What brings you here?" Angelique asked as she came over.

"I want to go shopping. Is there any malls around here?"

"There's one about 45 minutes away—

"Cool, want to come with? It's a bummer having to shop alone."

"Um, how would we get there?"

"Ask your love machine if he'll take us."

"Her _love machine_ isn't a chauffeur," Megatron called back, having heard Joey from his office.

"We could go to one of those sex shops," Joey said with a smile on her face, "Maybe we could get you a cute outfit. Something black with purple trim. Since Transformers are becoming more popular, we could probably find one with Megatron's face on it or something. Too bad we can't get to the mall though, poor ol' Megs doesn't know what he's missing."

"_Joey_!" Angelique hissed, but Joey had played her cards right.

"Alright…" Megatron relented, "I'll take you."

And so they went. Angelique sat in the driver's seat while Joey sat in the front passenger's seat. Since she wasn't shy, Joey immediately began fooling around with the radio trying to find something worth listening to. She sighed impatiently before saying, "Don't they have any death metal stations up here?"

Angelique looked at her, "You listen to death metal? How are you able to still hear?"

"What do you listen to, Lady GaGa?"

"There's nothing wrong with Lady GaGa."

"Girl, have you _seen_ Lady GaGa? There is _everything_ wrong with her. Do you listen to country?"

"No."

"What do you listen to?"

"Just about everything, but mostly rock," Angelique answered as she tuned the radio to a rock station, "Can we compromise on bands like Five Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, and Hail the Villain?"

"I guess," Joey replied, relenting.

Megatron sighed heavily before saying, "On the way back…the radio is off."

"We'll see," Joey said.

When they arrived at the mall, Megatron dropped Angelique and Joey off before he went and parked. They said they would back in a couple hours before they disappeared inside the mall. Once inside, Joey immediately grabbed Angelique by the arm and steered her to the food court where they sat at a table. The younger girl look confused as she said, "I thought we came here to shop."

"I need to tell you something serious first," she said, "I couldn't tell you back at the base because there are too many people that could overhear."

"Okay," Angelique replied, "I'm listening."

Joey glanced around before saying, "Kenneth McGuire and two other gang members are out of jail on bail."

She suddenly felt sick. "What?" she whispered loudly, "They were allowed to post bail?"

"Apparently, look I don't know where they are and I don't know if they are talking, but James, he was in charge of the gang, he's looking for me. He's threatened to kill me; he's threatened to kill you and Aurora unless he gets his hands on me."

"Aren't you scared?"

"A little," she replied, glancing around once again, "I came here so I can talk to Verizon about getting my number changed so James can't contact me anymore."

"Does Starscream know?"

"No."

"Why haven't you told him?"

"I don't think he would care."

"Why wouldn't he care?" Angelique asked, "I mean, you guys are together aren't you?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he cares enough to protect me from others that want to hurt me."

"You could go to the cops; they could throw him back in jail. Heck, we could get Barricade to do it."

"Think he would?" she asked.

"Megatron could make him, and I just so happen to be on good terms with Megatron."

"So, you'll tell Megatron what's going on and get it taken care of?"

"Definitely. You don't need to be harassed."

"Alright, thanks," Joey said, "You don't know what this means to me."

Angelique smiled, "Should we go shopping?"

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" came a male voice to the right of them suddenly.

Both of the girls looked over and Angelique watched as Joey's face paled when their eyes landed on two males. "James…" she breathed as he sat down next to her, the other male sitting down next to Angelique.

The younger girl swallowed hard as she watched James wrap his arm around Joey and pull her close to him. "Why Jo," he said, "How funny it is running into you here. And you brought our friend Angelique to keep Nick entertained, how thoughtful of you."

"Yeah, we just got done eating," Angelique remarked, pretending to play along, "We were going to do some shopping, but I got to run to the restroom real quick. Joey, will you come with me? We won't be gone long and you guys can go shopping with us when we get back."

James seemed to smile, "Alright. We'll walk you to the restroom."

And they got up and walked to the bathroom. Once there, James gave them a time limit of five minutes and no more. He then took their phones so that they couldn't call anyone. After that, Joey and Angelique quickly went inside. "What do we do?" Joey whispered as she paced by the sink, "If we go back out there we'll never get away."

"Think we can make a run for it?" Angelique asked, desperately wishing that she could call Megatron.

"Somehow we need to get to Megatron," she said, "Somehow we need to convince James and Nick to let us go to him."

"We could say you forgot your money in the car and since I treated you to lunch you didn't realize it until just now."

"If we're not back in a couple hours, will Megatron call you?" Joey asked.

"Yes," Angelique replied, "Would those two goons let me take the call?"

"Yes," Joey answered, "So that everything seems normal. You tell him then, you tell him and then we'll run."

Angelique nodded and after both of them took a deep breath, they left the restroom. Joey tried to show via her body language that she was not interested in James at all. He kept trying to hold her hand, wrap his arm around her; he didn't want to leave the sex shop. He wanted her to pick out something to buy to make him happy. Angelique felt sick to her stomach as Nick went to the bondage section, repeatedly eyeing her. To her relief, he didn't get anything, but he kept trying to touch her, hold her hand. At one point, she slapped his hand away, but he only chuckled and pulled back his jacket to reveal a gun he had. She tried to keep her sickness back when she saw that.

"Hey, you're getting a call," James said as he tossed Angelique's phone over to her, "Answer it, but don't you dare say what's going on."

Joey came over to her as Angelique answered the phone. "Hello?" she said in a shaky voice.

"Angelique, it's been a couple hours. Is everything okay?" To her relief, it was Megatron.

Since James didn't have her put the call on speakerphone, she replied, "No. We met up with a couple old friends of Joey's that's why it's taking so long."

Megatron realized that Angelique was being extremely careful about what she said. He realized that someone was listening to her, but from the way she had answered, nobody was listening to him. "Do they have guns?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I'm coming in."

"You don't need to come in; we'll be out in a bit."

"Come out front, right _now_."

"There are cops out back? Do you know who they're looking for?"

Megatron saw what she was doing. "Be careful Angelique," he whispered.

"I got to go, I love you," she said before hanging up. She then looked to James and Nick who had desperate looks on their faces.

"We're leaving," James said.

"Thank God we're parked out front," Nick remarked as they practically forced Joey and Angelique to the front of the mall.

Both Joey and Angelique saw Megatron parked out front, and when they got out the doors, Joey broke free from James' grasp before punching him and yanking Angelique free from Nick. "Come on, run!" she said as she grabbed Angelique by the arm and pulled her towards Megatron.

But her voice was masked by the sound of a gun firing. Twice.

* * *

Until the next chapter, please review!


	30. Joey Part II

Well peeps, spring break is almost over. But no worries! I'm taking a leave of absence for the rest of the semester. I got personal issues. Anyways, thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter, I hope you enjoy this one.

* * *

**Chapter 30: Joey**

**Part II**

Angelique remembered that gaze that Megatron had held in his optics earlier that morning, that gaze that made her swear if she never looked away that she would never be afraid again. She was face down on the ground, her back screaming in agony. She heard people shouting, crying, whispering, everything felt like it was spinning. The pavement was hot; it felt like it was burning her synthetic flesh. She rolled onto her side, groaning. Her shirt was wet and stuck to her unpleasantly, like it was suffocating her. She touched her back and grimaced. Her hand was covered in blood.

_Joey…_

Reality came crashing back in like lightning striking a tree. "Joey," Angelique groaned pathetically as she struggled to stand up. She could only manage to get on her knees.

"Angelique, are you _crazy_?" she heard Joey say as the older girl tugged her to her feet, "You just took _two_ bullets for me and you hardly even _know_ me!"

"Where's…where's Nick and James?"

"They ran," Joey said, "Come on, we need to get you back to the base pronto."

Megatron was already waiting with the door open as Joey helped Angelique inside before getting inside herself. The Decepticon leader immediately tore away from the mall. He knew since they were in a crowded area that he couldn't open a dimension gate here and just go back to the base. He had to wait until they were out of town.

"Take your shirt off," Joey said, "Let's see how bad you are."

"I'm fine," Angelique remarked through clenched teeth.

"Do as she says," Megatron ordered.

Angelique sighed heavily and tugged her shirt off. Joey groaned before saying, "Angelique…why did you do that?"

"I can take a bullet better than you can."

"_No_ you can't. The bullets went right through you!"

The younger girl looked down. There was an exit wound near her left hip and another exit wound on her chest near her spark. She looked back to Joey, a panicked look on her face. Megatron didn't like the silence and asked, "How bad is it?"

"Megatron, I recommend you put your flashers on and get out of this town. She's got a bullet hole in her abdomen and her chest," Joey said as she took Angelique's shirt and proceeded to rip it in two.

"What are you doing?" Angelique breathed, closing her eyes.

"No you don't," Joey remarked as she gave her a nudge, "Keep your eyes open and keep talking." She pressed half of the shirt to Angelique's chest and applied pressure before doing the same to her abdomen. "Hold on to those and don't let up the pressure until we get you back to the base," she said, "It'll help stop the bleeding."

Megatron growled as he got held up at a red light. Angelique didn't say anything, which got Joey nervous. "Angelique," she said, "Talk to me."

"About what?"

"Guess what my name is. I'll tell you what it is once you're okay."

"I don't feel like guessing—

"_Come on_ guess. You've already guessed Josephine, Jolene, Johanna, and Pie."

"Joan."

"No, keep guessing."

"Jolie."

"No."

"Were you named after Oedipus' mom? Is it Jocasta?"

"_F—k_ no." Joey looked out that window from the driver's seat as a black car pulled alongside Megatron. She didn't have time to react as the window went down on the black car, revealing James holding a gun out the window. He fired four times as the light turned green.

Megatron didn't move. There was shattered glass everywhere. "Megatron," Joey wheezed, "Drive!"

Angelique looked over from where she was seated in the passenger's seat. Joey was clutching her chest; Angelique saw blood seeping between her fingers. "Oh no, Joey!" she exclaimed as she fidgeted in the seat, "Megatron, we don't have time, open a dimension gate, get us back to the base _now_!"

The Decepticon leader didn't have to be told twice. He opened a dimension gate and drove through, the gate closing before anyone else could enter.

* * *

Red Alert and Syndrome were shocked when Megatron suddenly appeared in the med bay in his vehicle form. His cockpit was completely smashed, but his injuries were minor in comparison to what was in his cockpit. Red Alert and Syndrome quickly rushed to Angelique and Joey's aid and immediately got them out before setting them each on separate berths. Red Alert went to work immediately on Joey since her condition was worse. Syndrome treated Angelique.

Once they were out of him, Megatron proceeded to transform into his robot form, wincing as he did so. He knew he would be picking pieces of broken glass from his chassis for days. He went to Angelique's side immediately, observing her injuries. She looked up at him, pain evident in her eyes.

"What happened?" Syndrome asked.

"Some of the guys that kidnapped Aurora and held us hostage are out of jail on bail," Angelique said.

"Well they did quite a number on you," Syndrome said, "Even though you're a gynoid you're no match for guns. Whoever worked to stop your bleeding saved your life."

Both Megatron and Angelique looked over to where Red Alert was treating Joey. They couldn't see anything because he had a curtain drawn. "Think she'll…be okay?" Angelique asked.

"We'll find out," Syndrome replied, "But first I need to get you stabilized, you're not out of this yet. Megatron, I'm going to have to ask you to leave for now."

The Decepticon leader gave a heavy sigh before squeezing Angelique's hand. "Hang in there," he breathed.

She gave a weak smile, "I will."

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek before whispering so that she could only hear, "I'm _nothing_ without you."

Tears rushed to her eyes as he left. Syndrome pulled a curtain so that they could have their privacy.

* * *

Megatron didn't leave the med bay immediately. He was making his way towards the door when Red Alert emerged from behind the curtain and met the Decepticon leader's gaze. "How is she?" Megatron asked.

Red Alert sighed heavily, "Bad. She's stable for now, but unresponsive. To be honest, I don't think she's going to pull through."

"Can I see her?"

Red Alert seemed surprised that Megatron would want to see her. "Okay," the Autobot medic replied, before going to help Syndrome with Angelique.

The Decepticon leader slipped past the curtain and glanced at Joey. He didn't spend much time looking at her though as his right fist suddenly began glowing. He pressed his fist to her chest for a few moments before exiting the med bay completely.

A brand new Decepticon insignia sparkled on Joey's chest.

* * *

Starscream was in the Decepticon throne room doing some work when his comlink suddenly buzzed to life. He growled impatiently before answering and saying, "Starscream here."

"How close are you to Joey?"

"Megatron?" the Decepticon second in command remarked, surprised that he would ask such a question, "I thought you liked Angelique."

He listened as the Decepticon leader groaned before saying, "I'm _not_ interested in Joey. She and Angelique were attacked and both of them are currently in the med bay."

"What?" Starscream hissed, "Is Joey okay?"

There was a pause. Starscream didn't like that either. "Megatron?" he asked impatiently.

"Red Alert wasn't too positive about her outcome."

He suddenly felt numb. "I'm coming down," he said.

"Alright," Megatron replied before ending the transmission.

Starscream didn't wait and he didn't give any explanation to the other Decepticons as he tore out of the throne room, determined to get to the med bay before…he couldn't finish the thought.

* * *

Megatron sighed heavily as he dug through Angelique's purse trying to find her phone. She had left it inside when Red Alert and Syndrome helped her out of him. He now sat in the waiting room outside of the med bay looking for Aurora's phone number so that he could call her and let her know what was going on. He wasn't about to leave when he knew Angelique was in there possibly fighting for her life. He offlined his optics momentarily as he banished the thought from his mind.

"How is she?"

Megatron looked up as Starscream came in. "That was fast," he mused then answered, "I haven't heard anything."

Starscream noticed Megatron was going through a purse. He sat down before asking, "Um…sir, what are you doing with a _purse_?"

"I'm trying to find Angelique's phone," he replied, "Primus these things have too many compartments…here we go." He finally found where she had hidden her phone and pulled it out. He went through her contacts and quickly found Aurora's number. After he plugged it into his comlink, he figured he could have just called Optimus, but he knew Aurora needed to know first.

He dialed.

* * *

Aurora wasn't sure what to think when an unknown number suddenly began calling her phone.

Optimus saw the perplexed look on her face before asking, "What's wrong?"

"I got an unknown number calling me," she said. Curious, she answered it, but she put the phone on speaker. "Hello?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Aurora—

"Megatron?" she remarked surprised, "How did you get my number? And why are _you_ calling _me_?"

He sighed, "I went through Angelique's phone. Look, have you heard anything about any of those gang members that Barricade arrested being released on bail?"

"No…that's ridiculous."

"Well, apparently a few of them posted bail."

Aurora didn't say anything for a minute. She struggled to process the information. "Wait a minute," she said, "You have Angelique's phone? And you're telling me some of the gang members are out on bail…oh God…what happened? Where's Angelique?"

"I'll explain what I know when you get here," Megatron replied, "But you need to come to the med bay. Bring Optimus too; he'll want to know what's going on."

"We'll be there in a bit," Aurora said, "How bad is Angelique?"

"It's not just Angelique," Megatron said, "Joey was injured as well. She got shot in the side of her chest…Angelique, she…"

"Megatron…"

"Just come," he said and ended the call.

"Let's go," Optimus said as he took Aurora by the hand.

* * *

"Shot in the side of the chest?" Starscream remarked.

Megatron looked at him, "She'll be alright."

"How can you _say_ that?" the Decepticon second in command retorted angrily before slamming his fist down on the arm of the chair he was sitting in, "I should have _never_ let her go shopping."

"Did Joey ever mention she was in danger?"

"She was getting a lot of text messages this morning; she said she was talking to an old friend and that if she were in any kind of danger she would've let me know."

Megatron tossed him Joey's phone, "See who she was talking to. She left her phone on my seat before Red Alert got her out."

Starscream went through her messages, cringing when he came across the death threats and James' desperation to get her back. "Looks like one of those gang members was an old boyfriend of Joey's," he said solemnly, "It appears she was done with him, but he wasn't done with her."

"What did he say?" Megatron asked.

"I'm gonna kill you, you don't leave me. I'm gonna find you, I'm gonna make you pay. You're gonna talk to me. You're gonna come with me, you belong to me. If I can't find you, I'll get those new friends of yours, Aurora and Angelique. I'll kill them. I'll kill all of them until I get you."

Megatron scowled, "Wait until I get my hands on him and his friends…"

"Save a piece of him for me," Starscream remarked.

"Does she say anything about meeting him at the mall?"

Starscream frowned, but knew it was a valid question to ask. He went through the text messages again before saying, "No. And she didn't accept any calls from him."

It was then that Aurora arrived with Optimus. She exchanged glances between the Decepticons before she looked to Megatron and asked, "What happened?"

"Joey wanted to go to the mall with Angelique," Megatron said, "So I took them. They ended up running into two of the gang members, at least I only saw two of them, and they shot Joey and Angelique."

"Looks like you didn't come out of unscathed either," Optimus remarked, gesturing towards Megatron's shattered cockpit.

"My injuries are nothing compared to theirs."

"Why did they shoot?" Aurora asked.

"I think they were going to kidnap them," Megatron said, "But they managed to break away. That's when the gang members shot. Angelique ended up jumping in front of Joey and taking both bullets."

"Oh God," Aurora remarked. Optimus squeezed her hand to let her know that he was there for her.

"When we were driving away, I got held up at a red light and they pulled up beside us and fired again," Megatron explained, "That's when Joey got shot. I had to use a dimension gate to get back here. Guaranteed someone saw me use it too."

Optimus sighed heavily, "We'll see what happens."

Aurora took a seat before asking, "So how bad are they?"

"When I left the med bay, Joey was unresponsive. Angelique was talking, but I think it was by sheer force of will," he stopped there.

'Where was she shot?"

"In the back, but bullets went through her. She was shot once in the lower back, once through her chest." He averted her gaze as his optics fell to the floor.

"She's strong," Optimus said as he sat down next to Aurora, "She'll pull through. Same with Joey."

"If she's unresponsive…" Starscream said, but couldn't finish.

"You're…with Joey?" Aurora asked.

"You didn't know?" he said.

She shook her head.

* * *

Hours went by. Everyone was getting impatient. Starscream was slumped in his chair, staring at the doors to the med bay, Megatron's gaze had not left the floor, and Aurora unintentionally dozed off leaning against Optimus.

"How long is this going to take?" Starscream asked, "Doesn't Red Alert know what he's doing?"

"If they're critically injured it might take a while to stabilize them," Optimus remarked.

Megatron remained silent. Optimus glanced over at him, noticing that he was going through Angelique's phone. From the soft look he held in his optics, he could tell that the Decepticon leader was going through Angelique's pictures. The Decepticon leader was unable to keep from smiling as he looked at pictures she had taken of herself; pictures of what he guessed were her friends.

Primus, he hoped she was okay…

The door to the med bay opened suddenly, startling everyone. Aurora woke up as Red Alert emerged. He seemed surprised to see everybody waiting outside. "Megatron," he said, "If you would like to be repaired, you can come inside now."

"Can we come in?" Starscream asked.

"Angelique isn't ready to see anyone," he said.

"I'm not here to see her," Starscream remarked, "What about Joey?"

Red Alert sighed heavily before relenting, "Alright, you can see her. Optimus, Aurora, since I'm letting him in, you guys can come in too."

And so, they all went in. However, Red Alert had moved Joey and Angelique out of the main part of the med bay and into private rooms located off from the med bay. Megatron sighed disappointed. He had hoped for at least a glimpse of Angelique to see how she was doing. Instead, he sat down on a berth as Red Alert worked to fix his damaged cockpit. Optimus and Aurora went to talk to Syndrome to see how Angelique was while Starscream slipped inside of the room Joey was in.

"Jo…" he breathed when he walked in and saw her lying on a berth. A few tubes and wires were attached to her chest.

Her eyes opened and a sad expression filled her face as Starscream sat down next to her on the berth and took her hands in his. "Starscream," she whispered, "What are you doing here?"

"Megatron told me what happened," he said, stroking his thumbs over the backs of her hands, "I went through your phone…why didn't you tell me what was going on?"

She looked away from him before saying softly, "I didn't think you would care."

"What do you mean?" he asked as a hurt expression filled his optics.

"I didn't think you wanted me for anything other than to satisfy yourself," she said.

"Jo…"

"Nobody has ever loved me…I didn't expect you to be any different—

"Jo, I want to be different. I want to be the first, last, and _only_ person that ever cares about you."

"Starscream…"

"I'll find a way, if you give me that chance. You may be human, but if Aurora and Angelique were turned into gynoids, we'll find a way."

Joey gave a small smile, "I'm not human anymore, Starscream."

He looked at her confused, "What do you mean?"

She pulled down her shirt a little bit to reveal a Decepticon insignia on her chest, "Megatron saved my life. He gave me Decepticon programming while I was unconscious. I don't know if Red Alert asked him, but the programming caused me to turn into a gynoid. Red Alert was able to repair my wounds. I'm going to be okay."

"_Shot in the side of the chest?" Starscream remarked._

_Megatron looked at him, "She'll be alright."_

Starscream was shocked, relieved, and overwhelmed all at once. He looked to Joey before leaning forward and whispering gently, "Well, I'm just glad you're going to be okay."

She smiled as he captured her lips in a gentle kiss.

* * *

It took Red Alert about an hour to repair Megatron's shattered cockpit. Once he finished, he went to check on Joey. The Decepticon leader sighed heavily, eyeing the room that Angelique was in before asking, "How is she?"

Syndrome, Optimus, and Aurora looked over at him. "She's stable," Syndrome answered, "A couple of vital lines that carry energon to her spark were severed, but Red Alert was able to fix them. She should be okay in a couple days."

"Can I see her?" Megatron asked.

"That's up to Red Alert," Syndrome said.

Red Alert emerged from Joey's room a few minutes later, and to everyone's astonishment, Joey walked out after him, Starscream behind her. "Megatron," she demanded, "Why did you save me?"

"Joey, I told you not to overexert your systems," Red Alert said.

Joey sighed as she looked back to the Decepticon leader. "Well?" she asked.

"You saved Angelique's life," he said.

"That's because she saved mine by taking those two bullets for me," Joey replied.

Megatron sighed, "She wasn't the only person you saved."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Starscream leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Megatron cannot live without Angelique. If she had passed, a part of him would have died too. You saved him as well."

"Oh…" she remarked, "Well…you're welcome. Where is she by the way?"

"In there," Aurora said pointing to a room with a closed door.

"Can we see her?" Joey asked, looking to Red Alert.

The Autobot medic sighed before walking over to Angelique's room. He walked inside, the door shutting behind him. A few minutes later he came back out, carrying Angelique. He set her on a berth and began hooking wires and tubes up to her. "Syndrome, help me," he said.

Syndrome went over and helped him finish attaching the machines to Angelique. When they finished, they stepped back. Megatron felt a knot form in his throat as he walked over to her bedside. "Angelique…" he breathed as he took her hand in his, squeezing it gently.

Her eyes fluttered open.

Megatron was sitting beside her in an instant. He leaned over the mess of wires and tubes that were strapped to her body and cupped her face gently in his hand. She smiled, looking at him.

"I held in there," she whispered, "Because I love you."

He smiled softly as he leaned forward and gently kissed her. Aurora smiled before moving closer to Optimus. He glanced down at her, smiling as well, before wrapping his arm around her and pulling her closer to him.

"When did they become a couple?" Red Alert asked.

"Not that long ago," Aurora answered.

Joey smiled and walked over. She sat on the other side of Angelique, causing Megatron to break the kiss. Angelique looked at her, grinning, happy to see that her friend had made it out alive as well.

"Jovina," she said.

"That's your name?" Angelique asked.

Jovina nodded, "Yes."

"It's really pretty."

"Well," Megatron said, "If you don't mind me, I'd like to finish making out with Angelique."

Joey rolled her eyes, "Of course!" And she got up from the berth.

Megatron smiled as he recaptured Angelique's lips with his.

* * *

"You two are bumbling idiots!"

James and Nick cringed as they looked to Daniel McHugh. "I told you to get Angelique, not romance Joey!"

"Sorry boss," James said, "We'll get Angelique next time."

"You better," Dan remarked, "There's no telling how much her metal hide is worth or what other secrets she's hiding."

"How soon can we put the next plan into action?" Nick asked.

"Soon," Dan replied, "_Very_ soon."

* * *

Of course I got to leave it with a cliffie. Please review!


	31. Truth or Dare

I apologize for it taking so long for me to update this. The last two weeks were pretty hectic and stressful for me. I'm completely exhausted now, mentally and emotionally, all thanks to my wonderful college. But I got the issues resolved, for now. I have been working on this chapter for the past two weeks though, and it was coming a long terribly, so I completely trashed what I had and rewrote it all today. I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and I know at the end of the last chapter I called Daniel Kenneth for some reason that I haven't figured out yet. I changed the error in the last chapter so it says Daniel now. I apologize for that too.

* * *

**Chapter 31: Truth or Dare**

"Dude, it's been like, _two weeks_ since we found Joey and Angelique at the mall, I thought you said we'd be putting the next plan into action soon."

Daniel McHugh looked up at Nick from his desk only to see he was looking down at him expectantly. He sighed heavily before saying, "You and James were supposed to _stalk_ them in order to find out when they would be most vulnerable to kidnap again."

"You know James and I haven't seen hide nor hair of them."

"Precisely…"

Nick rolled his eyes before remarking, "So what'd Angelique say to you the last time we had her? She said her parents made her? Then those robots came and rescued them. So why don't we kidnap their parents?"

"Please, you _still_ believe that?" Dan remarked irritated as he leaned back in his chair, "Both of her parents grew up on farms, both of her parents were never exposed to computers and the what not until they were in college, and back then a computer took up an entire wall and only had 32 megabytes of memory. Their parents pursued medical careers…not ones in robotics."

"So then…who created Angelique?"

Dan let another heavy sigh pass his lips, clearly annoyed, "Angelique was a human once. I believe she was turned into whatever she is now."

"Turned into a robot? That's not…that's not even possible."

"Hey boss," James said as he walked into Dan's office. He tossed a manila folder onto his desk before saying, "You should take a look at that."

Dan nonchalantly took the folder and opened it. "What's this?" he asked without much enthusiasm. He stared at a photo of a fire engine and then at a photo of what appeared to be a Formula 1 race car.

"The picture of the fire engine I took back when kidnapped Aurora. The photo of the race car thing I took when we found Joey and Angelique at the mall. Aurora was using the fire engine to get around and Angelique and Joey were using the car to get around.

"That is odd," Dan mused, knowing that girls should not be using fire trucks and race cars as primary modes of transportation, especially while their parents had been away on vacation, "But, I'm afraid I don't understand the significance of this."

"You ever heard of Transformers?"

"Transformers is a cartoon," Dan replied cynically.

"Keep looking through the folder," James said.

And so he did. Dan saw the next thing in the folder was a brief description of Transformers Cybertron, one of the many Transformers cartoons that aired in the United States. He then looked down at the bottom of the article and felt his heart nearly stop. There was a picture of Optimus Prime from Transformers Cybertron, his vehicle form completely identical to the fire engine Aurora had been seen in. There was also a picture of Megatron and his vehicle form matched that of the race car. Dan looked back up at James before saying, "You think that Transformers are…real?"

"You got a better explanation?"

"In a weird way, it makes perfect sense…" Dan said, thinking, "But if it's true, we'll have to figure out just how the hell they are alive."

"Think of the money we could get for discovering this," Nick mused, "We _really_ need to get our hands on one of those girls."

"Isn't the first day of school coming up soon?" James asked.

Dan nodded before saying, "Yes, but there's no telling if Aurora and Angelique will be going back to school after what has happened to them. Their parents might want them to be homeschooled."

"But if not?"

"If not, then the girls have to come out of their house then. If they do go to school, I want you two to follow them from a distance, get to know their schedules, see where they go, find out who their friends are. But don't try to nab them right away, they'll be expecting that."

"You got it," Nick said, "You think they didn't want the mine there because they're hiding the Transformers on their property somewhere?"

"Well, we'll have to find that out," Dan said, "It would make sense that they are definitely hiding something since nobody called the cops to have you two arrested again for shooting them. But, let's get to work. We can't afford any mistakes this time."

And with renewed purpose, they began compiling a plan in case the girls were being homeschooled.

* * *

"Thank the dear Lord that I can't eat food anymore," Angelique exclaimed as she set down her book, _Fast Food Nation_, and sighed with relief. She finally finished reading the book.

Aurora looked up at her from where she was seated on the couch. "About time you finished reading that," she said a she scrolled through various apps on her phone, "I finished reading my book about a week ago. I've been bored out of my mind."

"You could've had Optimus entertain you," Angelique mused, "With _el sexo_ or something."

Aurora rolled her eyes, "Optimus has been busy lately, as you know. He's working with Megatron, our parents, Starscream, and Barricade trying to find those gang members and seeing what we should do about school—

"I think we should have a party," Joey said, interrupting Aurora as she stepped into the hangout, "How do underage northern New Yorkers party?"

Aurora sighed heavily as Angelique's eyes immediately lit up with excitement. "Mom and dad always let us have a bonfire at the end of the summer; we would invite over all our friends and make s'mores and stuff. I _really_ miss my friends. Sometimes I wish we didn't have to keep the Transformers a secret…it'd be cool if we could _all _hangout."

"Well, that's _never_ going to happen," Joey remarked, "For starters, there's no way we could introduce the TFs to your friends, and secondly, none of us are allowed outside of the base. Optimus _and_ Megatron had the base connected to your guys' house so that you can go back and forth without the risk of being seen by anyone."

"Maybe someday we'll be able to," Aurora said, trying to bring some hope to her sister.

"Well, until _then,_" Joey stated, "Anybody got any suggestions as to how we're going to entertain ourselves?"

"We could set off the fire alarms," Angelique suggested, "We'd get to leave the base maybe for a few minutes."

"I got an idea," Joey said, grinning wickedly, "Let's play truth or dare."

"I don't know," Angelique said, "The last time I played, I ended up getting a peanut butter facial."

But it was Aurora who said, "Hey, I think it's a good idea. I'm feeling brave, come on Angelique, let's play."

Angelique sighed before saying, "Alright."

"Sweet!" Joey remarked as they all sat in a small circle. She proceeded to take out her iPod where she had a Truth or Dare app. She plugged in everyone's names and gave it a shake. "Alright, Aurora, truth or dare?"

"Um, truth," she said.

"What features of yours are you self-conscious about?"

Aurora thought about it for a second before she said, "Probably my feet…"

"Good enough for me," Joey said as she handed the iPod to Aurora and said, "Your turn."

Aurora shook the iPod just as Optimus, Megatron, and Starscream entered the room, however, none of the girls noticed as Aurora asked, "Joey, truth or dare?"

"Uh, give me a truth."

"Um, how old were you when you lost your dignity?" she then laughed.

"Oh geez," Joey remarked, "I think I was sixteen."

"Damn," Angelique remarked as Aurora handed the iPod back to Joey.

"What are you doing?" Starscream asked as the three of them walked over to the girls.

"We're playing truth or dare," Joey answered, "You guy are welcome to play if you want."

Optimus, Megatron, and Starscream exchanged glances before hesitantly agreeing. They sat down as Joey added their names to the game and gave her iPod a shake. "Angelique," she said, "Truth or dare?"

"I'll be brave, I'll take a dare. But please nothing to do with peanut butter."

"Have the player to your right put lipstick on you," Joey said, "Let me grab my purse."

As she did that, Angelique looked over to see that Starscream was sitting to her right. "Oh boy," she remarked when Joey came back and handed him bright red lipstick. She closed her eyes as he applied the lipstick, thankfully, he didn't deviate from her lips, and she figured he didn't because he didn't want Megatron getting mad.

"Okay," Angelique said when Starscream finished, "Give me that thing."

"Sure," Joey said, chuckling at the lipstick that clearly was too bright for Angelique's complexion.

Angelique shook the iPod before grinning and saying, "Optimus, truth or dare?"

"Truth," the Autobot leader replied, hoping to play it safe.

"Okay, assuming every person has their price, what is yours?"

"It depends on what the person is asking for," Optimus said.

"Let's say a sexual favor," Joey remarked, grinning.

"In that case, unless it's Aurora, I'm priceless."

"Oh Primus," Megatron remarked as Angelique handed the iPod to the Autobot leader.

Optimus proceeded to shake it before saying, "Starscream, truth or dare?"

"Dare," replied the Decepticon second in command.

"Seduce the person to your right," Optimus read.

Megatron and Starscream exchanged glances before the Decepticon leader, who was sitting to Starscream's right, said desperately, "No, _never_, that will not be happening."

"I think it'd be hot," Joey said.

"I just think it would be hilarious," Aurora said.

"Well then," Megatron said as he stood and slid Joey so that she was sitting next to Starscream, "After this game, you two can do all the seducing you want." And he proceeded to take her seat.

Optimus handed the Decepticon second in command the iPod and he took it before asking, "Aurora, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What flaw is enough to cause you to break off a relationship?"

"I don't know if having pink ex-girlfriends is a flaw," Aurora mused, causing Optimus to laugh nervously.

Aurora took the iPod and after she shook it, asked, "Megatron, truth or dare?"

"Dare," the Decepticon leader remarked.

"Hug every person in the group."

"Come here Megs!" Joey exclaimed, holding her arms open.

Megatron mumbled something under his breath as he went around and hugged every player. He made all the hugs quick, except for Angelique's. When he started to let it linger on too long, Aurora cleared her throat before handing the iPod to Megatron. He sighed and took it before smirking and saying, "Angelique, truth or dare?"

"Dare," she said.

"Exchange an article of clothing with the player to your left," he said.

Angelique looked to Aurora before taking off her sock and handing it to her. "Ew, no!" Aurora said.

"Fine then," Angelique said as she put her sock back on, "Give me your shirt."

"Alright…" Aurora replied as she took her shirt off.

Angelique took hers off as well and they exchanged shirts as Joey whistled and said, "A couple people in this room are sexy and they know it."

Neither Megatron nor Optimus could divert their optics from their girlfriends. They weren't topless since they had bras on, but both were quite revealed. Both leaders were disappointed when Aurora and Angelique put each other's shirts on. Megatron then gave the iPod to Angelique. "Joey, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Call a random person and pretend to be their girlfriend or boyfriend."

Joey sighed heavily before asking, "You guys got a number I can call?"

Angelique was already going through her contacts list. "Call my friend Zach!" she exclaimed and she gave her his number.

Joey dialed before putting her phone on speaker.

"Hello?" a male voice answered.

"Hey baby, how are you doing?"

"Um, who is this?"

"Oh come on, don't tell me you don't remember. I'm your girlfriend."

"…What?"

"How can you not remember me?" Joey asked, pretending to sound hurt, "I'm breaking up with you."

"Wait, is this…Michelle?"

"Who the hell is Michelle?" she questioned, "Are you _cheating_ on me?"

"N-No."

"It's over!" Joey said before hanging up. Angelique was laughing so hard she could barely hand the iPod to Joey. After the elder girl shook it, she asked, "Megatron, truth or dare?"

"Dare," he said.

"Do the Macarena."

He looked at her confused, "The Macarena?"

Aurora and Angelique were already giggling, so he figured it couldn't be good. "The Macarena," Aurora said as she grabbed a remote that turned on the stereo. She pressed a couple buttons before a song started to play. "This song is called Macarena," Aurora said, "Angelique, care to demonstrate what the Macarena is?"

"No problem," Angelique said as she proceeded to demonstrate the dance.

"No," Megatron said, "I am _not_ doing that."

"Yes you are," Joey said, "And I promise you I will laugh."

"No," the Decepticon leader repeated.

"Come on, Megatron. I've never taken you as a coward," Optimus said, taunting him.

Megatron sighed heavily before standing up. "Show me the dance again," he said, unenthusiastically. He watched carefully as Angelique repeated the steps before he performed the dance himself. When finished he quickly sat down, trying to ignore the fact that everyone was laughing at him before taking the iPod from Joey. He shook it before asking, "Optimus, truth or dare?"

The Autobot leader thought for a moment before saying, "Dare."

Megatron grinned wickedly before reading his dare. He said, "Say the words 'in bed' after everything you say for the next five minutes."

"Guess I don't have a choice…in bed," Optimus remarked. He paused for a moment before saying, "Megatron, give me that thing…in…bed."

Megatron just stared at him, Joey, Angelique, Aurora, and Starscream snickering. The Decepticon leader handed the iPod to Optimus, who shook it and said, "Aurora, truth or dare…in bed?"

Aurora grinned before saying, "Dare."

"Uh," the Autobot leader remarked before saying, "Kiss the person to your left…erm…in bed."

"Whoa," Angelique replied as she observed that Optimus was sitting to Aurora's left, "That can be saved until _after_ the game."

Aurora agreed before taking the iPod. "Angelique, truth or dare?"

"Dare," she said, feeling fearless.

Aurora read the dare before saying, "Joey! What is this? This app suddenly got _very_ dirty."

"Yeah," Joey said, "Sometimes it does that."

"Dirty?" Angelique remarked.

Aurora proceeded to read the dare, "Give the person opposite of you a lap dance…while naked."

"Heck yes," Megatron exclaimed.

"I think we're done playing this game," Aurora said as she handed the iPod to Joey.

Joey nodded, "Yeah…we should confine the sexy moments to our bedrooms…"

"Anyways," Angelique said as she tried to change the topic of the conversation, "How did the meeting with our parents go?"

"They want you to try going to school," Optimus said, "But if something happens, they're going to pull you out. One of us will be transporting you to and from school."

"Like who?"

"Probably Hotshot," Optimus explained, "The gang members wouldn't be expecting him."

"How's the school's security?" Megatron asked.

"Well, they keep all the doors locked during the school day. In order to get into the building you have to press a call button and say why you're there. They also have metal detectors, but I don't know how much good those are," Aurora elucidated.

"No security guards?" Megatron questioned.

"We only had security guards once and for a day," Angelique said, "Back when I was in second grade and someone threatened to blow up the school."

"Oh yes, I definitely want you to return to school now," he remarked sarcastically.

"I only want to go to school because I miss my friends," Angelique confessed.

"Me too," Aurora added.

"All this talk about school is depressing me," Angelique said.

"Tell me about it," Joey said, "I dropped out of school in tenth grade."

"How long do you have to go to school for?" Starscream asked.

"It gets done at three in the afternoon," Angelique answered.

"No, like, how many years?"

"Oh, there are twelve grades. But I started school when I was three years old, well, Pre-K that is. So really we go to school for 14 years, then there's college if you choose to go."

"Thank God I'm a senior," Aurora remarked.

"You're in your last year of school?" Optimus asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Yeah, well, lucky you," Angelique said.

"You're almost there," Aurora said, "But that won't stop me from picking on you because you're a junior."

"Well," Megatron remarked trying to change the topic, "Someone owes me a naked lap dance still."

"And I still have to seduce someone," Starscream added.

"And I have to kiss the person to my left in bed," Aurora stated, smirking, "But Megatron, my sister better come away from that lap dance as a virgin still."

"I can't guarantee anything," the Decepticon leader replied as he scooped Angelique up in his arms and left the room with her.

"You guys have fun now," Joey said as she left the room with Starscream.

Optimus and Aurora proceeded to glance at each other before they left the hangout as well.

* * *

September 5, the first day of school, came too quickly for Aurora and Angelique. Hotshot waited in his vehicle form for them in their garage and at around 8:00am, the girls came out and got inside before he left their home and headed towards the school. About ten minutes later, their parents left for work.

Nobody noticed a black car parked behind some bushes in a field across the road, a man peering through a pair of binoculars at the house.

"Come on Nick," James said as he got out of the car, "The coast is clear."

The two of them proceeded to cross the road carrying a plastic bag. They entered the home since the door wasn't locked and placed a hidden camera in every room of the house, including the garage and basement. They were determined to find out what was going on.

When they finished, they quickly drove away.

* * *

Daniel McHugh wasn't surprised when Nick and James returned about an hour later from the assignment he had sent them out on. "Well, how did that go?" he asked as they stepped into his office.

"According to plan," Nick replied, "Take a look for yourself."

Dan proceeded to turn on a large flat screen television on the wall behind his desk. Each room of the Carlson household was shown on the TV. He smiled, "Excellent. Now we should be able to find out what is going on, and hopefully relatively quickly."

He left the television on for the rest of the day, checking it every once and a while to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary. It was at around 2:30 that movement caught his eye. Dan McHugh looked to the screen only to see the garage floor suddenly part as if it was a giant door and a car emerge on a lift. "No way…" he breathed as he called James and Nick into the room to verify what he was seeing.

The car proceeded to leave the garage. Around 3:15 it returned, Angelique and Aurora inside. Angelique and Aurora proceeded to get out of the car before they heard Angelique say, "We'll meet you down in the base, Hotshot. We've got to leave some forms on the table for mom and dad to sign."

"Alright," Hotshot replied. He waited until they were inside of the house before he took the elevator back down into the base, the garage floor closing as he was lowered inside.

Daniel, James, and Nick watched as Angelique and Aurora left the forms they needed signed on the table before they walked down into the basement. They went over to the wall and pressed a button that was on the wall. A section of the wall suddenly opened, leading into what appeared to be a tunnel, but Daniel knew it was an entrance to the base. When Angelique and Aurora disappeared inside, he grinned maliciously.

"Hotshot is one of the Transformers," James mused, "So they _are_ real."

"Damn," Nick exclaimed, "If we can sell _all_ of them, do you know how much money we'll make?"

"What do you think boss?" James asked.

"I think we need to get our hands on some guns…" he replied.

"And then what?" Nick asked eagerly.

Dan's smile broadened as he said, "I think it's about time we got to meet the Transformers…"

* * *

Please review!


	32. Bit, the Tour Guide

Happy belated Easter everyone! I was supposed to go back to my college to turn in my room key, but that didn't happen. My Easter was good, but full of weirdness and miscommunications. I also had strange dreams last night about Megatron that I might base a story off of, but I don't know. It'd involve Disney princesses...anyways. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 32: Bit, the Tour Guide**

Trigonometry.

It was one of the few words that struck fear into Angelique's heart. She lay on the floor in Megatron's quarters, her math book, notes, and other papers scattered around her, staring at the problem that she somehow had to figure out. She was nearly done with her homework; she only had one problem left. The questions about the sine, cosine, and tangent of triangles hadn't really bothered her, but now that she had to prove one triangle was equal to another triangle in a proof…she wanted to scream. She reviewed her givens for the millionth time as she tapped her pencil against the floor, trying to figure out just where to begin.

"Stupid math and its stupid properties and rules…" she muttered as she thought about tracking Aurora down to get help, but she knew that Aurora was busy with her Calculus homework. She sighed heavily.

"Something wrong?" asked a voice.

Angelique looked up as Megatron walked in, observing her as she lay on her stomach on the floor trying to do her math homework. She sat up before saying, "I can't do math."

He sat down beside her before taking her math book and asking, "What problem are you trying to do?"

"Number 23."

The Decepticon leader looked at the problem before saying, "We did this kind of stuff in what is equivalent to your preschool."

Angelique blushed profusely, suddenly realizing how much more intelligent Megatron was than her. She felt ridiculously stupid as she glanced at the book in his hands. "Thanks for the self-esteem boost," she remarked sarcastically.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said as he flipped through the book, looking at more of the problems and at what she would eventually be learning, "This math class you're taking is so elementary. You'd learn more if you were under _my_ tutelage."

Angelique's blush only deepened as she thought about Megatron being her teacher. She had a feeling he would go beyond giving her lessons in mathematics and science though. "Sex education would be your favorite subject," she mused, smiling.

He laughed before turning to the page back to where her homework was and asking, "Would you like help?"

"Only if you don't make any comments or laugh about how much stupider I am than you," she said.

"Alright," he promised, "Write down your givens."

Angelique took her homework and wrote down what she knew since it was given to her in the problem. _Line BD bisects AC, given. BD is perpendicular to AC, given_. When she finished, Megatron asked, "Okay, what's the problem asking you to do?"

"Prove that Triangle ABC is isosceles," she responded.

"What's an isosceles triangle?"

"It has two sides that are equal in length," she said and then remarked, "Well, since BD bisects AC, then lines AD and DC are equal."

"Good."

Angelique wrote that down and stated why on her homework before considering the next step. She drew herself a diagram of the triangle and labeled everything she had just figured out before saying, "Angles ADB and BDC are right angles."

"You don't need my help," Megatron said as she wrote that down, "You just needed someone to get you started."

Angelique was able to finish the proof on her own before setting her math homework aside. She sighed heavily before saying, "Thank God that's done."

"Do you have any more homework?" he asked.

"No, it's all done."

"Perfect," he breathed as he pulled her against him and kissed her deeply, "Remind me how long it is until you're back on summer vacation."

"I've only been back to school for a couple months," she said, smiling, "I get out in June."

He sighed heavily; it was only the end of October. She was always busy with school, with homework, and when she wasn't doing either, she was catching up on lost hours of sleep. Megatron knew that Angelique was trying her hardest to find time to spend with him, but the Decepticon leader felt like it was never enough. He knew it wasn't her fault since her schedule greatly conflicted with his, but for at least a day, maybe even a night, he wanted her all to himself.

"You should take a weekend off sometime," Angelique said, seeming to read his mind.

Weekends were really the only time Angelique was free, but since he was leader of the Decepticons, Megatron rarely took a day off. Perhaps one weekend wouldn't hurt anything. But he didn't want to make plans right now, not during one of the rare moments where he actually had Angelique for a few fleeting hours.

He lifted her in his arms and carried her over to his berth where he set her down and then crawled in beside her. "Isn't it a couple hours too early to be going to bed?" she asked, a teasing smirk on her face.

"Silence," he breathed as he kissed her again. His thoughts immediately turned to sex and how Angelique managed to get this far into their relationship still a virgin. In the time he did manage to spend with her, she usually ended up naked, but he hadn't gone much farther than that with her. He wanted her to be comfortable being naked and vulnerable in front of him, and he figured for the most part she was now. But now, she had to be comfortable with him and the fact that he was not shy.

Angelique felt as Megatron deepened the kissed before his systems gave a sudden hiss that she hadn't ever heard before. She didn't think much of it as she felt him glide his fingertips over her torso and down her arm. His hand wrapped around her wrist before pulling her hand gently towards him. Her fingertips suddenly glided against something smooth and softer than what she had been expecting touch. He held her hand where it was as she carefully grasped something thick. She felt him stifle a breath and shudder as she stroked her hand along a massively thick cable.

She gasped in sudden realization and tried to pull her hand away, but Megatron held her wrist firmly. "No," he said, "Don't fear me."

Angelique looked to him, uncertain. "Touch me," he said, his voice soft but steady. And slowly, she did. He sighed as pleasure tickled through his frame. She stroked him slowly, gently, her hand unsure. Eventually he released her wrist and gently massaged his hands over her body, kissing her neck, nipping her wonderfully soft flesh between his teeth.

Eventually he forced her hand to stop and made her let him go. Angelique looked at him surprised before asking, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just getting a little too excited," he said as he put himself away, "I don't know how far you want to go."

She smirked before replying, "Well, no offense, but I want my first time to be a little more romantic than this."

He sighed heavily as he rolled over so that his back to her, "Here we go with the romance again."

"Hey now," she remarked as she sat up and looked down at him, "What's wrong with that?"

"I told you before that I'm _not_ romantic."

"That's a lie," she protested, "You were romantic on my birthday…" She trailed off at the memory.

"I'm leader of the Decepticons," he stated as he rolled back over to face her, "You can't expect me to shower you in gifts and dates and other _stupid_ things."

"They're not _stupid_!" she yelled and then looked away from him, "Optimus gets things for Aurora."

"I'm _not_ Optimus. What do you want, a necklace? A ring? You want a ridiculous sparkling _rock_ that has a price to symbolize a feeling that should be _priceless_?"

"I didn't ask for a necklace or a ring, I just wanted you to do something sweet to show that you care about me before I give you something that I can never get back," she said, tears in her eyes, but she didn't want to cry because of him.

"You're being stupid and unreasonable."

"Yeah, well, you can jack off in the shower," she said as she angrily got up from the berth, "I'm sure your hand makes a better lover than I do anyway." And with that, she left the room.

Megatron growled before getting up and locking himself in his office. He wasn't sure exactly what had just happened, but he was furious. Instead of going after Angelique and making things worse, he decided he'd get some things done in his office until he cooled down.

* * *

Aurora was slightly disgruntled when Angelique walked into the hangout. She had been hanging out with Optimus since she managed to finish her homework early and she had wanted to spend some quality time with him. However, she could tell something was bothering her sister when she plopped herself down on the couch and sighed heavily.

"Something wrong?" the older sibling asked as she took her attention away from the Autobot leader.

Angelique looked between her and Optimus for a moment as if studying them before she said, "Be honest, have you guys had sex?"

"Uh-oh," Aurora remarked, "What's going on?"

The younger sister madly blinked away a few tears before diverting her gaze from Optimus and her sister. However, her voice betrayed her as she asked, "Do you think I'm stupid and unreasonable?"

"I'm your sister, of course I think that you are stupid and unreasonable at times…who said you were?"

"Megatron did."

"Why, because you wouldn't have sex with him?"

"I didn't tell him I _wouldn't_ have sex with him, I just told him I wanted my first time to be romantic, and he got mad," Angelique explained, "He said he's not romantic, even though I said I thought he was. I don't understand why he has to be so mean—

"Megatron's never had a serious personal relationship like this before," Optimus said, "At least not that I know of. He's dealt with a lot of femmes that he didn't care if he hurt or not. He's never had to go out of his way to impress a femme before and we all know how stubborn Megatron is."

"But one romantic night is too much to ask for?"

Optimus paused for a moment before saying, "You're trying to take Megatron out of his element. Yes, you captured his spark, but you cannot change how he is still leader of the Decepticons. I'm sure he warned you from the beginning that he wouldn't change."

"_I can't promise that I will never hurt you again, I can't promise that I won't make you cry, I can't promise that I'll be nice to you all the time…"_

Yes, he had warned her. She looked away from the Autobot leader before asking, "So, what am I supposed to do?"

He sighed heavily, "You need to decide what makes you happy, whether it's being with Megatron or with someone else."

"You're going to make me throw up," Angelique said, "I think I'm going to go for a walk."

"I would advise against leaving the base," Optimus remarked.

She sighed heavily, but left the hangout. Aurora and Optimus exchanged glances before the Autobot leader wrapped his arm around Aurora and said, "She'll be alright."

"I think I may go give Megatron a piece of my mind…"

"No, that wouldn't help anything. They need to work this out by themselves."

She leaned against him before asking, "What's your policy on sex?"

"When you are ready, let me know. I will not force you," and then he added with a smile, "And if you want it to be romantic night, then I will make it one."

She smiled and accepted a kiss from him.

* * *

"What do you think of this?" Joey asked as she stepped out of the cleansing room adorned in new lingerie that she had bought a few days ago after obtaining Megatron's permission to leave the base.

Starscream looked up from where he was seated on the couch watching television and smiled darkly, "I think you should come here and let me get a better look."

Joey smirked as she walked over to where he was and stopped when she reached him. He turned the television off as she stood before him. He wrapped his arms around her before kissing her exposed stomach teasingly. "You should let me help you out of it," he murmured as he traced his fingertips around her waist.

"I suppose," she remarked as she eased herself onto his lap, kissing him deeply.

Starscream smirked as he quickly worked to free her from the black and red lacey and revealing scraps of clothing. He felt Joey trail kisses down his neck, nipping at exposed wires and synthetic flesh. He moaned as she freed his hard cable, stroking it gently as she kissed her way back to his mouth. Her free hand stroked his wingtips, his cockpit; oh she knew just wear to touch him to drive him mad. She sat down on him suddenly, easing his cable inside of her. He groaned, "You on top?"

"Something wrong with that?" she asked as she slowly rocked her hips back and forth, her breath hot and heavy against his neck.

His only reply was a shuddered breath as he dug his fingertips into the exposed synthetic flesh on Joey's back. She kept her rhythm steady as she gradually increased her pace. Starscream caressed his lips against her neck as he gently teased her nipples between his fingertips. Her breathing became heavier and Starscream felt her muscle cables tighten around his cable. He eased his hands around her waist, grasping her painfully as he grunted, her overload sending him into his.

When the waves of pleasure finally ceased, Starscream managed to gaze at Joey through dim optics. "Okay," he breathed, "You can be on top more often."

She chuckled, her eyes half closed with exhaustion. Starscream pulled the blanket that was draped on the back of the couch off and wrapped it around them as he held Joey closer to him. He gently massaged her as she fell asleep.

* * *

Angelique ended up going to her bedroom in her house. It felt weird to lie down on the bed that she never slept in anymore. She stared up at the ceiling, sighing heavily, as she thought about everything that had taken place between her and Megatron in the last couple hours. Before she could begin to think about what she would say to Megatron when she saw him again, she heard a whimper from the side of her bed. Before she could look to see who was there, Bit suddenly jumped up on the bed, wagging his tail madly, knocking some things off the nightstand beside her bed.

"Bit," she exclaimed while laughing as he licked her, demanding her attention.

He barked, happy that she had noticed him. "Get down," she said as she gently scratched him behind the ear. He jumped down and Angelique sat up to pick up the things he had knocked over with his tail. However, as she knelt down to pick up the items on the floor, she was taken aback by a little black box that she didn't recognize. "What's this?" she mused as she picked up the box and examined it. As she examined it, she realized it wasn't a box. She dropped it in horror. "A camera?" she exclaimed, "Why is there a camera hidden in my room?"

Bit rushed out from behind her excitedly before taking the camera between his teeth, the lens pointed outwards, and running out of the room. "No!" the girl remarked as she scrambled to her feet to go after him, "Bit, come back here with that!"

But the mechanical dog didn't listen. Angelique chased him down into the basement and the dog jumped up, pressing the button on the wall that opened the doors to the base. He ran inside, Angelique running after him. However, he was built for running, unlike Angelique. He ended up racing far ahead of her and she lost him. "Bit!" she yelled dismally, knowing that whoever had placed the camera in her room was now getting a free tour of the base.

* * *

Megatron couldn't concentrate no matter how hard he tried to focus on his paperwork. He kept thinking about the fight he had with Angelique and the more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt. It wasn't beyond his ability to give her one romantic evening, but at the same time, he didn't want to give her a false impression of who he was. He sighed heavily, trying to read the information on a datapad that sat on his desk.

Figaro jumped onto his desk suddenly and looked at him before sitting directly on the datapad he was trying to read. He groaned before saying, "Of course you would choose to sit there."

He meowed before nudging Megatron's hand with his head. Reluctantly, the Decepticon leader stroked his hand over the cat's head, causing him to start purring. He was surprised that the action of petting the cat caused him to calm down tremendously. Without warning though, Figaro suddenly jumped down from the desk and ran out of the room. Megatron stared after the feline before sighing heavily. He got up and left the room himself to find Angelique.

* * *

Aurora leaned against Optimus as he gently stroked her back. He watched as she closed her eyes, obviously tired. Her senior year of high school was stressful for her and he knew she pushed herself harder than what most of her peers did. "Do you want to go to sleep?" he asked quietly, kissing the top of her head.

"No," she murmured, "I want to stay here with you."

He smiled, "I'll go with you, you won't be alone."

"But if I go to sleep," she said, opening her eyes, "When I wake up, I'll have go to school and leave you."

He tilted her face towards his and leaned closer to her. "When you wake up, I'll be there," he said, "And I'll be waiting for you to get back."

"What about after I graduate?"

"We can do whatever we want then," he said, "But don't worry about those things for now." He pressed his lips against hers, kissing her deeply. He let the kisses trail down her cheek and along her jaw until he reached the soft flesh of her neck. She stifled a breath as kissed her neck, nipping her skin gently. His hand grabbed along her torso and snaked upwards until he was cupping her breast firmly. For a moment, Aurora's thoughts turned to sex as she considered letting Optimus take her right there in the hangout.

Someone suddenly cleared their throat, startling both Optimus and Aurora as they pulled away from each other. They looked towards the entrance only to see Megatron standing there. A blush surfaced on Aurora's cheeks, but Optimus managed to keep his composure.

"I didn't mean to interrupt anything," the Decepticon said, "But have you seen Angelique?"

"She stopped by here not that long ago," Optimus replied, "She was rather upset."

"Do you know where she went?"

"She said she wanted to go for a walk," Aurora said, "She could be anywhere."

A flicker of irritation flashed across Megatron's optics before he asked, "She wasn't planning on leaving the base was she?"

But before anyone could reply, Bit suddenly burst into the room. He saw the Decepticon leader and immediately ran over to him, his tail wagging excitedly. Angelique ran into the hangout not long after Bit did, but she was clearly out of breath. "Get that thing…out of his mouth," she panted before sitting down on the couch.

Megatron looked down at Bit only to see a black object in his mouth. "Drop it," he commanded and Bit happily complied, letting the camera fall into Megatron's hand.

"What is this?" the Decepticon leader mused as he observed the object. When he realized what it was, anger and surprise filled his optics before he exclaimed shocked, "A _camera_?" He quickly crushed it. "Angelique," he demanded, "What was Bit doing with that?"

"Someone has been in our house," Angelique said, "I went up to my room and Bit followed me. He knocked some things on the floor and the camera just so happened to be one of those things. He then snatched it up and ran back in here."

"Great," Aurora groaned, "Someone just got a free tour of the base and a free show of Megatron."

"It had to have been Daniel McHugh's doing," Optimus remarked.

"I wonder how many more cameras are in the house…" the Decepticon leader mused angrily.

"I'm going to move to the Sahara," Angelique said.

"You're not going to be leaving my sight," Megatron remarked, looking to her.

"You're…not mad at me?"

He shook his head, "Not anymore."

She looked at him hopefully, "So, you'll give me a romantic night?"

"One that you'll never forget," he said with a rather evil smirk.

She got up and went over to him, hugging him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and held her against him knowing that this was where she belonged.

"Anyways…" Optimus said, "We'll have to look around for more hidden cameras tomorrow."

Megatron glanced at the Autobot leader before nodding his head in agreement. He and Optimus both knew that Starscream and Joey would have to be informed about this, as well as Aurora and Angelique's parents.

It was quite clear nobody was safe anymore.

* * *

Daniel McHugh smiled to himself as he reviewed the footage that he had just captured. He now had a wonderful map of the base, as well as proof that at least Megatron existed. It was now quite clear why Angelique and Aurora had defended their property to the death. They had quite a valuable secret of their own, except now their secret was out of the bag and Daniel had every intention of cashing in on it.

It wouldn't be long until he met the Transformers face to face.

* * *

Please review!


	33. Trial Run

Sorry it took so long to update this, I'm a bit scatter brained as of late. I've had a lack of focus. I've been doodling, writing, stopping to eat, sleeping, writing some more, YouTubing, writing, etc. This chapter is also long, much longer than I thought it would be. But alas, I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**Chapter 33: Trial Run**

It felt like he had been staring at the computer screen for days.

Daniel McHugh released a sigh from his lips as James and Nick entered his office. All of them had spent the last few weeks watching Transformers Cybertron. He had filled several notebooks full of notes, trying to figure out each transformers strengths and weaknesses. He also tried to figure out the easiest way to debilitate a robot by consulting robotics experts and Googling information about robots. Since transformers were robotic organisms, he learned that the best way to disable them was by disrupting their electrical currents, which he found out could be done through a taser. However, the taser had to be placed directly against their circuitry, which meant they'd somehow have to get close enough to squeeze a taser between their armor plates.

He also ordered guns that could shoot armor piercing rounds. While Daniel didn't want the transformers dead, he knew he had to be able to overpower them somehow if he ever planned on selling them. During the past few weeks, he also had a blue print of the base made from the footage that he recorded. However, it was Nick and James that demanded his attention now.

"Something up?" he asked as he peeled his eyes away from his computer screen.

"The guns and tasers came in, along with the ammo," James reported.

"Sounds like we're ready for a trial run then," Daniel mused.

"Trial run?" Nick asked.

He smiled viciously, "Haven't you heard that they're dropping the charges against us?"

"…What?" James asked, dumbfounded.

"Lack of evidence," Daniel said, "We're free men. Kyle and Trevor will be able to join us. Is one of them expendable?"

James and Nick looked at each other before saying, "Kyle is."

"Good, it will be his job to see if our weapons are effective against the transformers."

"What happens if he gets caught?" Nick asked.

"Don't worry; I've got everything worked out. He and Trevor should be here soon. Once they get here, we'll get things in motion."

* * *

"I can't believe this!" Aurora exclaimed as she, Angelique, and Joey sat watching the news, "They're freeing the other two gang members because they don't have enough evidence for a trial. That means Dan, James, Nick, Kyle, and Trevor are free men."

"I guess our testimonies weren't enough," Joey mused as Aurora turned off the TV, "Maybe if the transformers went out of hiding we could actually have a case against them."

Aurora shook her head, "I'm not sure what kind of chaos that would cause."

"True."

"Hey Joey, can you buy me a gun?" Angelique asked, "Now that we're _definitely_ no longer safe I'd like to be able to protect myself."

Joey looked at her skeptically, "Do you even know how to fire a gun?"

She nodded, "Megatron taught me."

"When?"

"When he was training me."

"Training you?"

Angelique sighed heavily, "When the TFs first came to life, he enslaved me because I pissed him off somehow. He kidnapped me and gave me Decepticon programming to prove I was his. Then one day he decided that he was going to train me so that I could actually earn the right to call myself a Decepticon. He taught me how to fight and how to use a gun, but his real goal was to kill me. But, he didn't, since the Decepticon programming kicked in and made me a gynoid."

Joey looked her over for a minute before saying, "And you're in a serious relationship with this guy?"

Angelique realized how crazy it sounded before she admitted sheepishly, "All the more reason to have a gun…"

"I don't have two pennies to rub together," Joey said, "How do the rest of the TFs get their money, I mean, Optimus bought Aurora that necklace _and_ the ring. And Megs bought you flowers before."

"I think they embezzle funds from Hasbro's stock," Aurora said, "The company itself is worth over 500 million dollars, but that was a couple years ago. With all the Transformers movies and everything they're probably worth close to a billion now."

"Wait a minute, _Optimus_ is _embezzling_ funds?"

Aurora shrugged, "He said that if Hasbro wants to claim ownership over him, then technically he's part of the company."

"I like Optimus' logic," Joey mused, "Well then, now that we know our boyfriends are superbly rich, ask Megatron to buy you a gun, Angelique. I'm asking Starscream for a car, a _nice_ car."

"Ah, screw that," Angelique said, "It'd be easier to steal one out of the training room."

"Wait a minute, there's a training room?" Joey asked.

Aurora and Angelique exchanged glances before Aurora nodded and said, "Yes…"

"And you can do target practice?"

"Yes…"

"Come on Angelique, let's go! Being in a gang for ten years taught me how to use a gun, let's see who's better."

Angelique shrugged before saying, "Alright. You want to come Aurora?"

Aurora shook her head, "No, I think I'll stay here and get some homework done."

"Come on its Saturday, everyone knows that homework days are Sundays," the younger sibling protested.

But Aurora stood by her answer, "Nah, it's alright. You guys go ahead."

"Suit yourself," Angelique said before she left the room with Joey.

Aurora watched them as they left. When they were gone and the door to the hangout had closed, she turned back to her homework, sighing heavily. She hardly noticed when Optimus suddenly entered the hangout, but when she saw him, she smiled softly forgetting about the homework that seemed to be staring her down. "You're in here alone?" Optimus asked as he came over and sat beside her on the couch.

She leaned against him before saying, "Angelique and Joey left not too long ago to see who was better at firing a gun."

"You didn't go with them?"

She shook her head, "Angelique has it in her mind that she needs to own a gun now in order to feel safe."

Optimus looked to her concerned, "Why is that?"

Aurora picked up the TV remote and turned it on to a local news station. Optimus listened as a reporter discussed how the remaining gang members that were in jail were to be freed and all charges were going to be dropped against Daniel McHugh and the rest of the gang members. She felt Optimus ball his fists as she turned off the television and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"If you revealed your existence, do you think it would make a difference?" Aurora asked, "If everyone knew that you guys were real, would there be fewer issues? People could get used to you."

Optimus shook his head, "There's no telling what would happen. They might try to take us apart, they might try to use us for our resources, they might try to use us to fight their wars. Good or bad, they wouldn't leave us alone. This world isn't ready for us."

"But transformers are just like humans—

"They wouldn't see that. To the rest of the world, we're machines. The machines humans are used to can't feel, they can't think, they can't reason, they were designed by human beings in order to aid your species. Their only function is to make life easier for humans, and that is not our purpose."

"There's not much they can do if you say no, they can't take you away if we don't want them to."

"They would study you as well. They'd want to know how you, Angelique, and Joey turned into gynoids. And there's no telling if Hasbro would try to take us since they technically 'own' us."

"They own the franchise; they don't necessarily own you—

"They own my name."

Aurora sighed heavily, "What about the other transformers that came to life? You guys could be all over the globe—

"It's obvious our secret won't stay a secret forever. But they don't have to ever find _us._"

"Whoever set up those cameras that you went through and found, _they know_ you're here."

"And we can only deal with that if and when they come here."

"You think they will?" Aurora asked, looking to him.

"I am absolutely sure they will," Optimus said.

She exhaled loudly. "It's going to be alright, Aurora," the Autobot leader said as he eased her books out of her hands and set her homework aside.

"I need to finish that," she said.

He shook his head, "You can later. You need to relax."

"I am relaxed."

He eased her onto his lap before saying, "Is that why you're so tense?"

She didn't say anything as he eased his hands up her back and to her shoulders where he gently began to massage her. Aurora felt like she melted under his touch and she couldn't keep her eyelids from drooping as her muscles relaxed. "That's better," he breathed against the back of her neck before kissing the exposed flesh there.

A small groan passed her lips as she felt his hands slowly move down her back towards her waist. He kept kissing her neck, sending shivers down Aurora's back. She let her eyes close as she leaned back against him. He wrapped his arms around her, and without thinking, Aurora adjusted herself so that his fingertips brushed over the zipper of her pants.

Optimus felt a flicker of euphoric excitement pass through him. He wondered if she had done that on purpose. Slowly, he slid his hand over her waist, going upwards until his fingertips found the edge of her shirt. She moved suddenly so that she was facing him, straddling him. His optics burned with pleasure before he dimmed them and leaned forward and kissed her. He shuddered as her fingertips traced invisible patterns over the glass on his chest. Teasingly, he traced his fingertips back to the bottom of her shirt before gently sliding them underneath.

The Autobot leader longed to trail a path of kisses from her belly to her mouth, but the shirt she was wearing was in his way. Instead, Aurora wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning closer, his hands gliding over soft, metallic, warm virgin flesh.

His fingertips met the edge of her bra. For a moment he hesitated, but only for a moment. Carefully, he slid his metal fingertips beneath her bra. The garment moved upwards with his hand. Gently, he cupped her soft breast in his hand, the nipple hardening beneath his thumb. He felt as her lips deviated from his mouth, hot breath on his neck as she nipped one of his muscle cables, hard. With utmost grace, she thrust her hips against his, letting a beautiful groan pass her lips.

"_Oh Primus, yes."_

Aurora wanted him; he had told her that when she was ready to let him know, and he was just as hungry for her as she was for him. "Aurora," he breathed lustfully, "Let's go back to my room."

She agreed before climbing off his lap. He stood up from the couch and wrapped his arm around her before leaving the hangout with her.

* * *

When they got to the training room, Joey and Angelique immediately went over to the guns. Joey picked up a small pistol and aimed it at a target before firing. She was surprised when a laser shot out of it. "Damn!" she remarked, "Think it hurts to get shot by one of these?"

"I don't know, shoot yourself and find out."

Joey frowned before shooting Angelique in the leg. "Ouch!" Angelique hissed as she looked down at her leg. There was a hole burned through her pants and a deep burn on her leg, "What was that for?"

"I didn't like what you said," Joey said as she took aim back at the targets, "Come on, let's see who's a better shot, you or me."

Deciding that her wound could go without medical treatment for now, Angelique picked up another pistol and took aim at a target as well.

* * *

Kyle sighed heavily as he parked his car in a tree line across the road from Angelique and Aurora's house. Using a pair of binoculars, he peered into their open garage only to see that there were no vehicles around. Wanting to get this over with, Kyle grabbed the pistol Dan had given him as well as the taser and headed across the road and to the front door of the home. He tried the knob, locked. He looked around the house before noticing the basement window in the back of the house. Fortunately, it broke easily, and he was able to ease himself into the home.

He was to stick to the plan that Daniel had given him. He would enter the base, he would try to see how many transformers there were in total, and he would try to see how effective their weapons were against the transformers. He was wearing a button up shirt, each one of the buttons on the shirt was a mini camera so that Dan could monitor his progress back at headquarters. If he got caught, he wasn't to reveal anything or he was to give them a false story. Dan had given him the false story to say if need be.

Breathing heavily, Kyle made his way through the basement until he got to the wall where the button was that opened the door to the base. Hesitantly, he pressed it and watched as the wall opened up. Nervously, he stepped inside and listened as the door closed behind him. There was no turning back now.

* * *

Optimus pulled Aurora closer to him as they walked back to his quarters. His mind was on sex, he couldn't stop thinking about how soft Aurora's metallic flesh was, he couldn't stop imagining the noises she would make, he fantasized about how he would pleasure her—

He could hardly believe it when a man suddenly rounded the corner and aimed a gun at him.

"Don't _move_," the man snarled, the gun shaking in his hand.

Instinctively, Optimus pulled Aurora behind him in order to prevent her from being harmed. "Put the gun down," he said as calmly as he possibly could, "And I'll let you—

There was a loud bang and Optimus wasn't sure what hit him. Pain seared through his leg like white hot lightning as he collapsed down onto one knee. The gunman approached him and Optimus looked up as the gunman leveled the gun at his head. Optimus was just about to yank his legs out from under him when the assailant pulled something out of his pocket. There was a crackling noise before an electric shock jolted through his entire body.

His last thoughts were about Aurora before he went cascading into darkness.

"Optimus, no!" Aurora shouted as she looked to the gunman, unsure if he would try to harm her or not. To her surprise, he ran. She sighed heavily as she quickly pulled out her phone. She was shaking so much she could barely type out a text message, but she managed to and sent it to Angelique. She then proceeded to call Red Alert.

* * *

After what seemed like the millionth target, Joey finally relented and gave up. "Alright Angelique," she said, "Megatron obviously was a good teacher. You have to show me what he taught you."

"It's not much," she said, "He just taught me how to relax."

"Relax?" she asked skeptically.

"If you don't mind me touching you, I can show you," Angelique said as she set her gun down.

Joey smirked, "Alright, I'm down for some girl on girl action. You can help me _relax_."

"I _did not_ mean it like _that_."

"Live a little bit," Joey said, "Show me."

Angelique sighed heavily before saying, "Alright, aim the gun."

"That's what she said," Joey remarked as she aimed her gun at the target.

Angelique came up behind Joey, noticing that they were about the same height. She circled her, studying her before saying, "Spread your legs a little tiny bit more."

"Like this?" Joey asked as she shifted her legs a bit.

"Yeah, that's fine," Angelique said as she stopped behind her. She placed her hand on the small of Joey's back and her other hand on her shoulder. "Holy cow, let some of the tension out of your shoulders." She felt as Joey relaxed a bit. "Okay, now, make shooting like a breath. Aiming is inhaling, exhaling is firing."

Joey aimed, inhaled, and fired as she exhaled. She hit the target dead on the mark. "Well, I'll be damned," she said, "Let me try to do it again without your help."

Angelique stepped aside as Joey shot through the next several targets, hitting where she aimed each time. "I guess Megs knows what he's talking about," Joey remarked as she looked to Angelique, "What else did he teach you?"

"He taught me how to fight a person."

"Fight me!" Joey remarked, "I want to know."

"I don't like fighting people," Angelique replied.

"Well, show me how to defend myself at least. Come on, we have to be the ladies-in-arms, don't you want to impress Megs and Screamer by being able to hold your own?"

"I rather enjoy being the damsel in distress."

"You've _got_ to be kidding me."

"Alright, alright," Angelique said as she went with Joey over to some mats that were on the floor, "Show me your fighting stance."

She got into one, but Angelique was quick to correct it. When she was in a good defensive position, Joey said, "Okay, now attack me, I know some moves, but I want to see how good you are."

"Uh, you'll be gentle right?"

"No way! We're getting into the hardcore girl-on-girl action now."

Angelique sighed heavily before lunging at Joey, swinging her fist around to connect with her stomach. Joey caught her fist though and Angelique quickly swung with the other, but Joey kicked her legs out from underneath her. She went tumbling to the ground, Joey landing on top of her. Angelique's face flushed when she realized just how close Joey's face was to hers and when she noticed the position they were in. Joey grinned at her blush.

"Y-You're not into women are you?" Angelique asked nervously.

"What do you _want_ me to kiss you?"

"Oh heck yes," a raspy voice suddenly exclaimed rather excitedly.

Both girls looked over only to see both Starscream and Megatron standing at the edge of the mat, watching them. Both of them were wearing dangerous smirks. Joey looked back to Angelique and said, "I think the boys want a show."

"I don't think so," Angelique remarked as she pushed Joey off her and sat up. As she stood, she asked, "What are you guys doing here?"

"We heard shots being fired," Starscream said, "And we followed them here."

"We wanted to shoot some guns," Joey said, "Since they're dropping charges on the gang members and letting the last two out of jail, we wanted to see if we were capable of defending ourselves."

"Wait, they're letting them _all_ go?" Megatron asked.

Angelique nodded, "Yeah. We're all going to die."

"If we pull some girl-on-girl action, we'll be alright," Joey said.

"No," Angelique remarked.

"Does Optimus know about this?" Megatron asked.

"Aurora will probably tell him," Angelique replied.

Joey sighed heavily, "I don't know what they're planning, but I was with those guys long enough to know that all they're going to want is money. They're addicted to every kind of drug out there, crack, heroin, acid, ecstasy, you name it. They need something to finance their habits."

"Acid?" Angelique asked.

"LSD," Joey replied, "That stuff that makes a person super paranoid. First time I tried it I…" And she stopped, not wanting to go into that part of her past.

Angelique saw that Joey didn't want to talk about it anymore and instead said, "Well, if we're done here, I'm going to go pay Red Alert a visit, no thanks to you Joey."

She smiled sheepishly, "Hey not my fault Megatron didn't do a very good job teaching you self-defense."

"You shot me!"

"You shot her?" Megatron asked looking to Joey.

"Uh, my finger slipped."

"Right," Angelique remarked as she headed for the exit. Her phone suddenly vibrated. Groaning, she pulled it out of her pocket and stopped in the hallway outside of the training room to read the text she had received from her sister.

_Gunman in the base. Optimus down._

"Gunman in the base!" she exclaimed just as she heard a click to her left. She looked over only to stare down the barrel of a pistol. She cringed, whining, "Don't shoot me, don't shoot me, don't shoot me…"

Megatron immediately stepped out from the training room, Starscream and Joey behind him. "Get out of here," the Decepticon leader growled, his fist beginning to glow, ready to unleash an energy burst.

Starscream aimed his gun at the gunman, but it was Joey that said, "Come on Kyle, you just got out of jail, are you already trying to get back in?"

"Shut up Jo," he said as he moved the gun away from Angelique and instead pointed it at Megatron, "Get out of my way."

There was a sudden bang and Kyle cursed in agony as the gun went flying out of his hand, clattering to the ground. When the gun hit the floor, it discharged loudly. "Ouch, _damn it_ to the _pit_, my foot!" Starscream exclaimed suddenly as he leaned against the wall, his foot leaking energon.

"Sorry babe," Joey remarked as she held a gun that she had taken out of the training room, "Get on the ground Kyle."

Kyle watched as she pointed the gun back at him. His hand was already throbbing from where she had shot him. He knew he wasn't close enough to use the taser. He took a step back towards the gun he dropped, but stopped when Joey said, "I said get on the ground."

Reluctantly he sank to his knees. Impressed, Angelique turned to Joey and said, "You'd make a good cop."

"I've been arrested enough times to know," she said as she looked back to Kyle, "You got anymore weapons on you?"

He removed the taser from his belt and slid it over to her. "Very good," Joey remarked, "Alright Megs, he's all yours."

Megatron's hand returned to normal as he went over and apprehended Kyle, hoisting him to his feet. "I'll take him down to the prison," he said, "I'll meet you back at the med bay, make sure Red Alert takes a look at your leg Angelique." He proceeded to open a dimension gate and walked with Kyle through it.

Starscream looked to Joey before saying, "That was impressive."

She grinned, "I aim to please."

"Come on," he said as he opened a dimension gate of his own, "Let's get to the med bay."

Angelique and Joey went through before he followed.

* * *

Optimus was surprised when he woke up and saw he was in the med bay. His vision was blurry, but when it cleared, he remembered what had caused him to be put in the med bay. "Aurora," he remarked as he sat up, "Where is she, is she alright?"

"I'm right here," she said as she came up beside him, "I'm fine. The gunman ran after you blacked out."

Optimus sighed, relieved. He pulled Aurora closer to him before moving to get off the berth he was on. However, Red Alert stopped him saying, "I wouldn't recommend walking yet sir. That bullet went straight through your leg. It might take a couple days before you can put your full weight on it again."

"It's fine Red Alert," he said as he stood up, wincing as he did so.

"Perhaps you should sit back down," Aurora said, observing the pain in his optics.

He did as she said just as a dimension gate opened and Angelique, Joey, and Starscream came through. Red Alert groaned when he saw the Decepticon second in command was limping. He helped him to a berth before saying, "I take it you were shot too?"

"Yeah, can you fix me?" Starscream asked.

Red Alert momentarily examined his foot before saying, "Looks like the bullet only grazed you. Give me a few minutes."

"It's my turn after his," Angelique said.

Red Alert turned to her, almost in disbelief, "Don't tell me you were shot _again_."

"I was, but Joey shot me."

"You shot my sister?" Aurora asked as she looked to Joey.

"It was an accident," Angelique said, not wanting to have to explain what happened.

Red Alert went over to her and examined her leg where Joey had shot her before he deduced, "It's just a flesh wound, it'll heal on its own. You'll be alright."

"If you say so doc-bot," Angelique replied.

Red Alert then went to repair Starscream's foot when Megatron appeared through a dimension gate. Optimus looked to him before asking, "Well, guessing from Starscream's injury, you guys had a run in with the gunman?"

"Kyle?" Joey replied, "Yeah, but we took care of him."

"He's in the prison," Megatron added.

"I say we give him the rest of the day to cool down and then tomorrow we'll question him," Optimus suggested.

"Ouch!" Starscream suddenly shouted, "Red Alert, would you at least _try_ to be careful? That's my foot, not a piece of scrap metal."

"I know _what_ it is," Red Alert replied sarcastically, "Now hold still or I'll make it hurt worse."

Starscream grumbled something under his breath before Joey came up to him and crawled onto the berth behind him. She wrapped an arm around his waist before breathing in his audio receptor, "I like it rough. A little bit of pain mixed in with all the pleasure, you know?"

"Keep talking."

"I've been a bad girl."

"Yes you have," he purred as he looked to her, his optics gleaming with excitement.

"When Red Alert's done with you, you should punish me."

He went to kiss her when Red Alert suddenly prodded his wound, causing the Decepticon to hiss in pain before saying, "Do you _mind_?"

"There's no PDA in my med bay."

Starscream sighed heavily but listened as Joey chuckled before leaning in and whispering in his audio receptor, "When you get done here, come back to the room, I'll be waiting."

He watched with a sly smirk as she left the med bay.

* * *

For one of the first times, Daniel McHugh wasn't sure what to do.

He sat at his desk in his office, reviewing the footage he had received from Kyle. While the cameras on his shirt were still rolling, there was already one vital piece of information that he had obtained. Their weapons worked very well against the transformers. But, he still didn't know how many transformers in total there were.

Kyle had gunned down Optimus, then he ran into Starscream and Megatron. Before taking Kyle to the prison, Megatron mentioned Red Alert being in the med bay. Together, that made four transformers, but Dan had a feeling there were far more than four. The night they had raided the abandoned warehouse they had taken up residence in he had counted at least five, but he didn't know if Megatron, Starscream, or Optimus had been part of those five.

He groaned, trying to rack his brain in order to remember. There had been a police officer outside, and now that he thought about it, in the Transformers movie, there was a Decepticon that transformed into a police car. That would explain how Aurora and Angelique were able to get the police on their side, so he was up to a total of at least six transformers.

Daniel sighed knowing that he would have to bide his time or prepare for a much larger operation. He wasn't afraid to recruit more people; he would leave that up to James, Nick, and Trevor. He was more than eager to get his hands on the money though.

He would show those machines what it meant to coexist with mankind.

* * *

Please review!


	34. Differences

**Chapter 34: Differences**

"Will _someone_ answer me?"

Kyle could feel his throat getting sore, his lungs burning. He had been awake for the last hour trying to get someone's attention. Megatron had locked him inside a prison cell hours ago and completely forgot about him, at least that's what Kyle believed. He was starving and had to pee more than anything in the world.

"Come on!" he shouted again, his voice nearly breaking, "I need to f—king piss!"

Silence.

Kyle growled angrily. Just how long were they planning on keeping him here like this? Until his bladder burst? Until he died of dehydration or starvation? He knew the former wouldn't happen since he would relieve himself on the floor before his bladder did burst. However, that didn't quell his anger. He was tired, hungry, and his stomach felt like it was going to explode. He paced across his cell and was just about to yell again when, to his relief, he heard a door open.

"It's about time!" he exclaimed and watched as Joey and Starscream suddenly came into view.

"What is your problem?" Joey remarked, crossing her arms as she looked him over, "It's only seven in the morning and we can hear you shouting all the way down at the other end of the base."

"I have to piss!"

"Oh…right, you're still human," she stated as she looked to the Decepticon second in command, "Starscream, you want to help me get him down to the bathroom?"

"Still human?" Kyle inquired, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," she said as Starscream unlocked his cell and apprehended him, "That since you've been imprisoned by a bunch of robots that don't need to use the bathroom or eat, that your basic needs have been neglected."

"Well, you could've reminded them," Kyle sneered as Starscream led him out of the cell.

Joey shrugged before saying, "Slipped my mind."

Kyle ignored her as they escorted him to the nearest bathroom. Before he could go inside though, Starscream asked, "Do you have any cameras or wires on you?" And he felt as Kyle suddenly stiffened.

"No," he said.

"Oh really? Unbutton your shirt."

"Can I go to the bathroom first?"

"Do as he says," Joey remarked before stepping in front of the bathroom door.

Reluctantly, Kyle did as they asked. Starscream wasn't surprised when he saw the inside of the shirt was covered with wires. He noticed that the wires collected at the buttons on the shirt. The Decepticon leader narrowed his gaze at him, "Let me guess, the buttons are really cameras and you've been filming us this whole time?"

Kyle didn't say anything.

Starscream sighed heavily before he let go of Kyle and said, "Hurry up and relieve yourself."

Joey got out of his way as Kyle quickly went inside the bathroom. "Now what?" she asked.

"I think I'm going to give Megatron a call," Starscream said.

"What for?"

"Well, he's really good at making people talk, if you know what I mean."

"Optimus would never approve of this."

"That's why I'm not radioing him," Starscream stated as he tuned his comlink to Megatron's frequency.

* * *

Megatron wasn't pleased to wake up to Starscream calling him. He reluctantly removed his arms from around Angelique's waist before he rolled onto his back. "Megatron here," he answered, though it sounded more like a tired mumble.

"Sorry to wake you sir," Starscream replied, "I was just wondering if you would mind coming down to the prison."

Megatron was tempted to curse Starscream out for calling him at such an ungodly hour, but instead he asked, "Why? What's going on?"

"Our prisoner's been a little unruly this morning. He's also got cameras all over him. I figured whoever is watching those cameras might like a little show so that they can see just what they're up against."

"I like the way you think, Starscream."

"So you'll come?"

"I'll be there in about an hour. Give him some food and water, soften him up a bit. That'll make the show more interesting."

"As you command, sir."

Megatron was relieved when Starscream ended the transmission. He sighed heavily as he sat up on the berth, looking back down at Angelique. She was lying on her stomach and only wearing a camisole and lacy purple panties. He grinned, loving the color, and he couldn't help himself as he gently slid his hand over the smooth curve of her backside and down the back of her leg.

"Why do you accept comm. calls so early in the morning?" she mumbled into the pillow.

He laughed, and Angelique opened her eyes in surprise when Megatron suddenly flipped her onto her back and moved so that he was on top of her, his weight pressing her into the berth. He kissed her deeply; Angelique struggled to meet his intensity. She felt his fingertips wandering down her bare legs before slowly easing their way back up and hesitating at her panties. He grasped her hips tightly, grinding his pelvis into hers. "Let me have you," he breathed, passion and lust burning in his optics.

"You said you'd be romantic about it."

"What do you want me to do?" he asked, nipping her neck, "Dim the lights? Throw rose petals on the bed? Turn on some romantic music? Light some candles? I don't see the significance in any of that."

"Could you at least tell me you love me considering you never have before?"

He sighed as he rolled off her and onto his back. "My actions speak louder than my words," he said, looking to her as she turned to face him.

"Do you love me?" she asked.

"I haven't led you to believe otherwise, have I?"

"Then how come you can't say it?"

"Why can't you just know?"

She sighed heavily, deciding not to argue with him. Instead she sat up and said, "I'm going to go take a shower, you can join me if you want."

"I don't want to be teased anymore."

Angelique didn't say anything else as she got up from the berth. She grabbed some clothes before going inside the cleansing room, the door closing behind her. Megatron sighed heavily; he supposed he couldn't be mad at her. However, he still thought the romantic evening idea she had engraved in her CPU was ridiculous. He shook his head, knowing it really wasn't anything to worry about. One of these days, she wouldn't be able to resist him anymore, if anything, she would get so sick of waiting that she would provide _him_ with the romantic evening. Grinning, he eyed the door to the cleansing room. There was no reason why he couldn't tease her…

* * *

Angelique was surprised when she heard the door to the cleansing room open. She was even more surprised when Megatron suddenly joined her in the shower. She gave him a skeptical glance before saying, "I thought you didn't want to be teased anymore."

He shrugged before saying, "I figured you could help me scrub all those…hard to reach places."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she remarked as she went to rinse the shampoo out of her hair, "You can scrub your own aft."

"I would prefer to scrub my own aft," he said as he watched her rinse the shampoo from her hair, his optics following the suds as they slid down her body. When she finished, she slipped past him as he moved under the faucet.

Angelique had just squeezed some conditioner onto her hand when Megatron made a sudden hissing noise. She glanced over at him only to see his cable fully exposed. "Really?" she asked as she began massaging the conditioner into her hair, "Rodzilla needs scrubbing too?"

"Rodzilla? Really?"

"Well, what else do you expect me to call it?" she inquired, "Mr. Happy? The One-Eyed Snake?"

"How about my spike?" he suggested.

"You call them spikes?" she wondered, "They don't exactly look like spikes."

"Well, I never thought a human penis looked like a cock either."

"Touché," she replied, knowing that a cock was really a rooster. She reached for the body wash, which was really car wash soap. Since her flesh was now metallic, the car wash soap worked much better than regular body wash. However, it didn't last long since Megatron used it too. "Care to get my back?" she asked as she squeezed some soap onto her hand.

He willingly did so, massaging the soap over her shoulders, her back, and even lower. Angelique jumped when he firmly grabbed her ass. "Do you mind?" she asked, turning to him.

"No, not really," he said, smirking, "Transformers don't have backsides like humans. I find yours rather interesting."

She blushed profusely before moving to rinse the soap off her body and the conditioner out of her hair. Megatron watched her for a moment before reaching for the soap. A minute or so later, Angelique stepped out from under the faucet only to stop short. Megatron was gently rubbing the soap over his spike. However, when he didn't stop stroking it, she suspected he was doing more than just cleaning it. "Uh…" she finally said, "Want me to get your back?"

He glanced at her before saying, "If you wouldn't mind."

She took the soap before gently squeezing some onto her hand and massaging it over the Decepticon leader's back. When she finished, he turned to her asking, "You wouldn't mind if I…?" He glanced down at his spike, his hand still on it.

He face flushed again. "Uh, no," she said, "I'll get out so you can—

"No, stay."

"Stay?" she asked as he guided her under the faucet with him.

"I need a visual."

"A visual?"

"You know, it's why men ask for dirty pictures or look at pornography. They can only get so far before they need to look at something. Imagination only gets a guy part way there."

"Oh really," she remarked sarcastically.

He smiled and pulled her tightly against him. She felt his member stab against her abdomen before he took it and held it between her legs. She felt her flesh tingle as he pressed his lips against her neck, his knuckles brushing against the inside of her thigh as he stroked himself, slowly at first and then faster. He wrapped his free arm around her waist tightly, holding her against him. After a while, Angelique felt his body suddenly go rigid. She was too surprised to cry out when he suddenly sank his teeth into her neck, a beautiful moan escaping his throat as a hot, sticky fluid suddenly splattered on the inside of her legs. After a few moments, he finally relaxed and released his grip on Angelique as his arms fell back to his sides. He watched as his bodily fluids slowly dripped down her thighs before being rinsed away. He put his spike away before reaching behind Angelique and turning the faucet off. He noticed a gentle blush on her face, her eyes heavy with arousal. He smirked.

"I didn't mean to bite you so hard," he said, though he yearned to bite her somewhere else much harder.

"It's alright," she said in a breath, still blushing as she looked him over.

Satisfied, Megatron leaned down and kissed her, knowing that it wouldn't be long now until he had her the way he wanted her.

* * *

To Kyle, it was a feast.

He devoured everything that Joey had provided for him: toast, fried eggs, hash browns, and pancakes. Starscream curiously watched him eat while Joey just looked at him horrified. "Didn't they feed you while you were in prison?" she asked.

"Not like this," he remarked, "You've always been an amazing cook, Jo."

He had just finished eating when Megatron suddenly entered the prison. Kyle was in the process of chugging an entire water bottle when he saw the Decepticon leader come in. He finished off the water before asking, "What are you doing here?"

"I was invited," Megatron replied, "I heard you weren't behaving well this morning."

The Decepticon leader observed that they had Kyle sitting in the interrogation room. He was sitting in a chair at the table, but he wasn't manacled at all. Megatron took a seat in the free chair across from Kyle.

"Well," Kyle said, "That's because _I_ had to take a f—king leak. Heck, if I knew you were coming, I would've held it and pissed all over your f—king face."

Megatron _didn't_ like that. He seized Kyle by the throat before seething, "Watch what you say, _human_, or else you _will_ regret it."

"Al-Alright," he choked out before Megatron let him go.

Starscream just smiled as he leaned against the wall, wrapping an arm around Joey. Megatron settled himself back in the chair before saying, "So…who's bright idea was it for you to come here yesterday? Obviously you were testing those weapons to see if they would work against us. Turns out you shot Optimus in his knee joint, the weakest part of his leg. Had you missed, the bullet probably would've ricocheted right off his armor."

"It was my idea to come here," he said, eyeing the Decepticon leader warily.

"Alone?"

"Yes."

"Nobody told you to come here?"

"No."

"Then how'd you know where the base was?"

"James told me."

"I thought you were working alone."

Kyle hesitated before finally saying, "Alright, so when I got out of jail I_ may_ have met up with him and he _may_ have told me the location of this base."

"Why'd you come then?"

"James wants Jo back," Kyle admitted, "Like, he'd do anything to get her back. He told me he set up cameras around this house so he could hopefully listen in and figure out where she was."

Starscream got angry this time as he asked, "Then how come he isn't here and you are?"

"Because I might just be a distraction."

"James isn't that smart," Joey remarked, "And I know he wouldn't go to such lengths to get me back. Hell, he almost killed me, if it weren't for Angelique and Megatron…" And she stopped, knowing that the cameras were still on Kyle.

"I don't think you know him as well as you think you do," Kyle remarked with a shrug.

"Well, regardless of _who_ is behind this," Megatron stated, "They are still watching everything. Starscream informed me that you have cameras on your shirt. It's quite clear you're not working alone, and between you and me, you don't have enough brains to go off on your own."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I think we should give whoever is watching a little _demonstration_ of what one transformer is capable of," Megatron remarked, "So, let's start over. Is Daniel McHugh behind this?"

"No."

Kyle suddenly screamed in pain when Megatron slammed his fist down on top of his injured hand, the one that Joey had shot the previous day. He heard bones snap, breaking from the force of the blow. He pulled his hand away the moment Megatron lifted his fist from it. Not wanting to lose his breakfast, Kyle removed his hand from the table without looking at it.

"Let me ask again, is Daniel McHugh behind this?"

"Suck my dick."

Kyle bit his lip to keep from crying out when Megatron suddenly stood and grabbed him by his broken hand. He yanked him to his feet before twisting his arm painfully behind his back. His shoulder was on the verge of dislocating as the Decepticon leader seethed, "You have one last chance to answer my question. I have all day and I will go as far as I have to until you talk."

Kyle hesitated; he knew if he struggled he risked injuring himself. He didn't know much about transformers, but he knew that Megatron was the bad guy. He looked over to Joey, knowing that she was the only one that would show him mercy. He glared at her, his eyes heavy with pain, hoping that it would make her feel guilty. He watched as her gaze shifted between him and Megatron before the Decepticon leader said, "Well?"

"Megatron…don't you think you're taking this a bit too far?" Joey asked.

Megatron looked to her. "I'm not about to debate whether torture is just," he said, "It's because of the likes of him and the rest of the gang that you, Aurora, and Angelique have nearly been killed on multiple accounts."

"By treating him like that, you're no better than him."

Megatron narrowed his optics at her before saying, "Starscream, get her out of here. Bring the energon prod back with you."

"Yes sir," Starscream replied as he escorted Joey out of the room.

As soon as they were out of the interrogation room, Joey turned to him and said, "You _have_ to make him stop."

"We need to set an example," Starscream stated, "The humans need to see that we are not weak, that we will stop at nothing to make them pay. They need to be afraid of _us_, Joey, not the other way around."

"I used to be one of them!" she exclaimed, "That man in there used to be a friend of mine, a _good_ one—

"It's because of him that you almost died!" Starscream hissed, seizing her by the collar of her shirt and yanking her closer to him, "I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe, Jovina."

"I _don't_ agree with what you are doing."

"I'm sorry," he said before grabbing the energon prod.

Joey watched as he turned and walked back into the interrogation room. She didn't even wait for the door to close before she let the prison. There was one person she knew of that would put a stop to this.

* * *

The moment Optimus' optics came online, Aurora was on his mind. Thoughts of how he had almost had her the previous day haunted him, threatening to arouse him. He tried to keep himself from overheating by distracting himself with thoughts of how the security would have to be changed around the base. In order to defend themselves from the weaponry the gang now seemed to possess, preventative measures would have to be—

Aurora gave a light sigh in her sleep, snuggling deeper into him as a smile tugged on the corners of her lips. Optimus grinned at how peaceful she was. Gently, he tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. He watched as she slowly opened her dark brown eyes, the smile never leaving her face.

He continued to gaze at her as she sat up, stretching. Optimus couldn't stop his optics from roaming over her small form. They wandered up the gentle curves of her body as she relaxed and glanced back over her shoulder at him. She smiled at him, Optimus felt like melting.

He sat up on the berth beside her as he wrapped an arm around her waist, his hand grasping her hip tightly. "Good morning," he breathed as he kissed her exposed shoulder, slowly making his way towards her neck.

"Morning," she breathed back, her fingertips lightly tracing up his abdomen.

He let a small groan pass his lips as he used his teeth to remove the strap of her skimpy nightgown from her shoulder. He relaxed his grip on her as she turned towards him. Optimus wrapped his other arm around the front of her before guiding her back down onto the berth. Despite Red Alert's warnings about his leg, he positioned himself over her, kissing her deeply, hoping to make quick work of her nightgown. He let the kiss linger on for a moment before he slowly pulled away. He cupped her face gently, watching her chest rise and fall as she breathed deeply. He slowly traced his fingertips down her neck and across the exposed area of her chest until the nightgown prevented him from going any further.

"Aurora," he breathed, his hot breath sizzling against her neck, "I can no longer resist you."

He felt his spark swell as she reached down, grabbing the edges of her nightgown. He moved so that she could remove it. She sat up, easing the silk gown over her hips just as there was a loud and demanding knock on their door.

"Optimus!" they heard Joey shout from the other side of the door, "Look, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but I need you to open the door, it's an emergency!"

Optimus could hear the frantic tone in her voice and got up from the berth. He went over to the door, opening it quickly before asking, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's Megatron and Starscream—

"Are they hurt?"

"No, they're down at the prison, they decided to go on and question Kyle without you and they're torturing him. I can't make them stop either."

"Aurora, I'll be back," he said before leaving the room and heading down to the prison with Joey.

* * *

Kyle could barely keep his eyes open.

His body was screaming in pain, his shoulder dislocated, his hand burned and broken, his lip and nose bleeding as he crouched on the floor, waiting for the next blow. He didn't have to wait long, Megatron kicked him hard in the side, ribs cracking, as he fell over and met the energon prod that Starscream was holding. He cried out for Starscream to stop as it seared into his flesh.

"You know what you have to do in order to make us stop," Megatron taunted, a wicked smirk on his face as he motioned for Starscream to stop with the prod. "You know," he said as he rolled Kyle onto his back, "It's been a while since I've been able to torture anyone like this, you _don't_ know how _good_ it feels."

All his life, Kyle thought he had been the bad person. But now, as he suffered endlessly under Megatron's thumb, everything he had ever done didn't even begin to compare. "No," he managed to groan, his resilience still strong, "If this is how you are, then you deserve everything you've got coming to you."

"Shock him again, Starscream."

"I don't think so, Megatron," came an all too familiar voice from the doorway.

Megatron looked up to see Optimus Prime there. He grinned, "My Optimus, I haven't heard you use that tone of voice with me in a long time, not since the war." And he stood.

"What do you think you're doing?" Optimus asked as he came into the room.

"I have no need to explain myself to you, Optimus," Megatron replied, "So if you don't mind leaving…"

"I'll leave, but I'm taking Kyle with me."

Megatron frowned, watching as Joey came over and helped Kyle to his feet. "Come on," she said as she helped him over to the door, "Let's get you to the med bay, Red Alert and Syndrome will be able to help you out." And she left the room with him.

"You're no fun, Prime."

"You think torturing a prisoner into talking is _fun_, Megatron?"

"Don't tell me you actually _think_ I've changed my ways!" he exclaimed, "There is only one person I will change for."

"If you don't see reason to change your ways for the rest of us, then I think it's fair to say Angelique should be taken away from you to prevent harm coming to her."

"Don't you _dare_ threaten _me_!"

"I do not mean to anger you, Megatron," Optimus said, "But things are different now, they have been different for a long time. We all have to make changes—

"Don't give me another one of your speeches."

"Megatron, what would Angelique say?"

The Decepticon leader sighed heavily, his anger nearly exploding out of him. "I'm done here," he said flatly before leaving the prison.

Optimus watched him leave before he turned to Starscream. He narrowed his optics at him before saying, "I suggest you talk to Joey. I think she is quite upset with you." And with that, he left the room.

* * *

"Here, this should help with the pain," Red Alert said as he gave Kyle an injection of morphine.

It wasn't long until the gang member relaxed. Red Alert worked quickly to reset Kyle's shoulder before attending to his broken hand and cracked ribs. There wasn't much he could do for the burns that had been inflicted upon him, other than dress the wounds, and after a bit, he had Kyle as fixed up as he possibly could.

In the process of treating his injuries, Red Alert had removed Kyle's shirt and disposed of it accordingly, knowing that it was riddled with cameras. He was in the process of cleaning his medical tools when Optimus suddenly entered.

"Optimus sir," Red Alert exclaimed, not surprised to see the Autobot leader.

"How is he?" Optimus asked, gesturing towards Kyle.

"Megatron and Starscream sure did give him quite the beating. However, he should be alright and come out of it with minimal scarring," Red Alert replied, "Joey filled me in on everything. Looks like the Decepticons haven't changed a bit."

"That's what I fear," Optimus said, "Where is Joey?"

"She went to blow off some steam I think."

Optimus nodded, watching as Kyle fell into a fitful slumber before saying, "Let me know when he is better. I will be releasing him."

Red Alert's visor flashed with surprise, "You're going to let him go?"

"Yes," Optimus replied, "It's the least we can do for him after the way Megatron and Starscream treated him. I also doubt he'll say anything now, so releasing him would be the better option."

"Better option?"

Optimus shrugged, "Daniel McHugh has been playing a game with us and I do believe it's our chance to turn the tables on him. We'll release Kyle, but while he's out of it, do you think you could install one of our microscopic cameras on him, along with a tracking chip? I'm willing to fight fire with fire and go straight to the source to find out what's going on."

Red Alert smiled, "Consider it done, sir."

* * *

When Starscream arrived back at his quarters, he wasn't surprised to find Joey inside, pacing back and forth, clearly upset about something. She stopped pacing and looked to him as he came inside. He approached her hesitantly, stopping a few feet from her. For a moment, neither of them said anything and just stared the other.

"We're very different, you and I," Joey finally said, her voice soft.

Starscream gave a weak smile, relieved that she wasn't mad him. "Not in here," he said as he closed the distance between them, pointing to her chest, "In here, we're the same."

She smiled gently as she leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He hugged her against him, resting his head on top of hers. "You're not mad at me for getting Optimus, are you?" she asked.

"No," he answered, "You're not mad at me for being a Decepticon?"

"No," she replied, "Never."

"You do understand I was trying to protect you, don't you?" he asked, kissing the top of her head.

"Starscream," she breathed, "I feel safest in your arms."

He smiled. He pulled back a bit, no longer worried as he leaned in and captured Joey's lips with his.

* * *

Angelique was lying on her stomach on the floor, gently kicking her legs back and forth as she worked her way through her trigonometry homework. She had just finished writing the answer to the last problem when someone suddenly lifted her from the floor and slammed her against the closest wall. It took a few moments for her CPU to register that Megatron had her pinned harshly between him and the wall. She looked up at him nervously, his optics were wild.

"M-Megatron?"

"You are not to leave this room without me, do you understand?"

"Don't you think that's a bit possessive?" she asked.

He growled as he grabbed her roughly by the chin, tilting her face towards his. "Do you understand?" he asked again, anger dripping from his words.

"Yes," she replied, "What's going on?"

He relaxed his grip, his optics roaming over the features of her face as he tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "Optimus and I had a bit of a…disagreement," he said, downplaying what had happened, "He threatened to take you away from me and I _will not_ lose you."

"Megatron," she groaned, "What about school?"

"I will take you and bring you home, should I let you return."

"My parents will never allow that."

"You are no longer there's," he said, pressing his lips to her forehead, "Your father gave me permission to have you, and have you I will."

"I'm sure whatever my father told you, that's not what he meant."

"Silence," he breathed as he forced his lips upon hers, "You belong only to me."

* * *

Daniel wasn't sure how many times he ended up watching the footage of Kyle being tortured before James finally came in and turned the television off. "I am not going to let them get away with that!" he growled angrily as he grabbed a gun off the desk and went to storm out of the office when Nick and Trevor stopped him.

"Wait man," Trevor said, "We can't go in there like that."

"He's right," Daniel McHugh said.

"Then what do you suppose we do then?" James asked, "I'm not going to stand by and watch one of our own take a pounding!"

"I agree," Nick said, "If the transformers are capable of that, then we're _no match_ for them. I'm getting Kyle back and then I'm out of this."

"Easy," Daniel replied, "We won't be able to detain them like I originally planned."

"We're better off letting them be," Trevor remarked, "I say we stop all this nonsense now."

"We'll hand the tapes over to the media," Daniel said, "When the public sees they are real, when the public sees how they treated Kyle, the transformers will be contained then. We'll still get the payout we want."

"What about Kyle?" James asked.

"We will get him."

"When?"

Daniel proceeded to go over to the window and open the blinds, only to reveal it was snowing very hard outside. "This storm isn't supposed to end until Tuesday evening; I doubt the schools will be open tomorrow. We'll go then."

"So, tomorrow then?" James asked as he set the gun back on the desk.

"Yes," Daniel McHugh replied, "It's about time we met face to face."


	35. Emergency

Today has been absolutely miserable for me, but I have good news, I finally updated this story. I've been absent for many reasons, one of the reasons being all the stupid updates this site is doing. Another reason is lack of ambition. The biggest reason is I started dating a guy over a month ago and I'm falling for him even though I'm trying not to. I don't want to delve too much into my personal life, but any TransFan will appreciate this story. He's 27, I'm 20, and he has a 9 year old daughter. The first time I met her, she said, "My name is Rachel, and I love transformers!" I think we'll get a long just fine.

* * *

**Chapter 35: Emergency**

James drummed his fingers nervously against the arm of the couch as he sat and watched the news report. A banner scrolled across the bottom of the screen informing viewers of school cancelations due to inclement weather. As he watched the news, he couldn't focus on what the reporter was saying as he instead thought about how they would be trying to rescue Kyle today. The footage from the cameras kept playing through his mind, he could still see each blow Megatron and Starscream inflicted upon Kyle, he could still hear every scream. He growled lowly, squeezing his eyes closed as he tried to banish the scene from his mind.

"Everything alright?" Nick asked as he came into the room that James was in.

"Just thinking about Kyle," James said as he lowered the volume on the television.

"I say we ditch Dan after this is all done. The money ain't worth it. We're like brothers, no screw that, we _are_ brothers. That's worth more than anything Dan will ever give us."

"What about Joey?" James asked, turning his attention away from the television and looking to Nick.

"She chose them man, she walked out on us. If she wants to associate herself with those robots, then let her. You'll find someone else," Nick persisted.

"She did save Kyle."

Nick sighed heavily before saying, "Just let it be man. She made her choice, now we need to make ours."

"Everything alright in here?"

Both Nick and James looked over to see Dan in the doorway. He had a suspicious look on his face, but James ignored it as he replied, "Everything is fine. Are we going?"

"Yes," Dan remarked, though he wasn't convince by what James had said, "We'll head up around 10. I've got to get the snow machines ready. Any of you ever driven a snowmobile before?"

"Trevor has," Nick said.

Dan nodded, "Alright, I'll drive one, Trevor will drive the other. We'll have to double up. James, you'll ride with me."

"Alright," James replied, "We'll come looking for you around 10 then." And he turned his attention back to the television.

Dan shot him one more scrupulous look before leaving the room.

* * *

It was a little past 6:30 that morning when Aurora heard her phone vibrating on the nightstand beside Optimus' berth. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up, trying to get the sleepiness out of them as she reached over and picked up her phone. She noticed that she had a text message from her father. Curious as to what he wanted so early in the morning, she opened her inbox and read the message.

_School called—classes are canceled due to bad weather. Enjoy your day off!_

She smiled and forwarded the message to her sister before setting her phone aside and lying back down beside Optimus. She was certainly grateful for the extra day to sleep in.

"Who was that?" Optimus suddenly asked, exhaustion heavy in his voice.

"My dad," she replied, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's alright," he said before questioning, "What did he want?"

"School is canceled today because of bad weather. I guess it snowed so bad they decided not to send the buses out."

"So, we can sleep in?"

She smiled, "Yes."

Though he wished to do more with her, it was simply too early in the morning and he was too tired. Instead, he gathered her in his arms, holding her closer to him as they both fell back to sleep.

* * *

Angelique wanted to scream from happiness when she read the text message her sister had forwarded to her. She sat up and glanced over at Megatron who was still sound asleep on the berth beside her. She knew that she could go back to sleep, but she was too excited. She wanted to go see exactly how much snow they had gotten that would cause school to be canceled.

Since they lived in upstate New York, it was hard to get a snow day. She had heard that schools in southern states closed if they got a couple inches of snow since they didn't have the machinery or equipment as readily available to remove the snow from the roads. However, where they lived, it often took a couple feet of snow in order for the schools to close. It seemed like the North Country had an army of snowplows and snow blowers on call, ready to serve their purpose at a moment's notice. She tried to guess how many feet they had gotten when Megatron suddenly stirred next to her, his optics flickering online. He observed her for a moment before asking in a tired voice, "What are you doing up?"

Angelique glanced at the time on her phone and saw it was 6:43; the alarm wouldn't be going off for another 17 minutes. She smiled proudly before saying, "School is canceled."

"Canceled?" he remarked as he rolled over onto his back, "Schools on Earth can cancel without repercussion?"

"Well, yeah, if it's not safe to go, the school closes. Each school is given a few extra days in its academic calendar to allow for cancelations or delays."

"Why isn't it safe?" he asked, suspicious.

"The weather is bad. I guess we got quite a bit of snow last night and the plows can't keep up," she said as she went to crawl off the berth. She was a bit surprised when Megatron stopped her.

"Where are you going?"

"To shower," she said, confused as to why he would be stopping her, "And then to see how much snow we got."

"No."

"What?"

"I said no."

"Why not?"

"Remember what I said yesterday?"

Angelique had hoped he had forgotten about that, or that a good night's sleep would have changed his mind. She thought it was completely ridiculous that Megatron didn't want her to leave the room without him. She highly doubted that Optimus would take her away from him, and if he did try, she figured if she threw a big enough tantrum, the Autobot leader would have to allow her to go back. Optimus couldn't hold her against her will and neither could Megatron.

"I think you're overreacting," she said.

He shook his head before saying, "I don't want to argue with you so early in the morning."

"Then let me go."

He sighed reluctantly before he scooped her up in his arms and went with her into the cleansing room.

* * *

It was just after 9am when Joey entered the med bay. Kyle sighed in relief upon seeing her. Even though Red Alert and Syndrome had helped him, he still didn't feel comfortable being around any of the transformers alone, especially after the treatment Megatron and Starscream had given him.

"Good morning, buttercup," she said as she reached him, "How are you feeling?"

Kyle winced at the pet name before saying, "Better. You didn't come here to belittle me, did you?"

"Belittle you?" Joey repeated, "Well I _suppose_ I could considering I think you and the rest of the gang are assholes. But no, I honestly came to see how you were doing."

Kyle relaxed a bit before asking, "You wouldn't mind getting me something to eat, would you?"

Joey sighed heavily just as the doors to the med bay opened again. They both looked over to see Optimus enter. Optimus, however, wasn't surprised to see Joey in the med bay. She was standing beside the berth Kyle was on, making small talk with him. The Autobot leader sighed heavily before looking to Red Alert, who was standing over a microscope out of earshot of everyone else. He went over to his medical officer before clearing his throat.

Red Alert immediately looked to his leader before saying, "I take it you're here to find out how Kyle is doing?"

Optimus nodded, "Is he ready to be released?"

"Yes. His shoulder is going to be sore for a while, but it'll eventually feel better."

"And the microscopic camera?"

Red Alert smiled, "While he was out of it this morning, I installed it. We'll now have optics and audio receptors on the gang members. I also installed the tracking device as well."

"Thank you, Red Alert," Optimus said before turning and approaching Joey and Kyle.

Both Joey and Kyle looked to the Autobot leader as he walked over to them. Kyle tensed a bit. Even though the Autobot leader had saved him from Megatron and Starscream's wraths, he still wasn't exactly sure if he could trust him or not. "Easy," Joey whispered to him.

However, Optimus spoke before Kyle could say anything. "I take it you're feeling better?" he asked.

"I guess you could say that," Kyle replied, carefully, "I'm still in a good amount of pain."

"I offer my sincerest apologies about the way Megatron and Starscream treated you," Optimus said.

"Your apologies mean nothing if you're going to allow them to get away with what they've done to me," Kyle spat.

The Autobot leader frowned before saying, "Keep in mind that you and the rest of the gang that you're involved with have hurt us as well. We haven't received any apologies from you or the rest of the gang, let alone mercy."

Kyle knew that much was true. Not wanting to start a fight, he asked, "So, what are you going to do?"

"I am hoping to meet Megatron later to discuss yesterday's events, but what we discuss is solely between us. As for you," Optimus stated, "Since it would be unfair of us to press you for any further information, you will be released."

Kyle looked to him dumbfounded. "Released?" he repeated in disbelief.

"Yes. As soon as you have Red Alert's permission, you will be escorted out of the base. If you should return, you will be punished appropriately."

"I guess that's fair," Kyle remarked.

Optimus nodded before saying, "I will leave you be now." And with that, he turned and left the med bay.

* * *

Megatron wasn't the least bit pleased when Optimus informed him that he wanted to meet with him in the conference room at 10am in order to discuss the state of the alliance. Even though the Decepticon leader knew that he had not threatened to break the alliance the previous day, Optimus clearly felt insecure about its wellbeing.

Quite honestly, Megatron didn't feel like getting into another argument with Optimus. The only thing he cared to find out was if the Autobot leader truly meant that he would take Angelique away.

As the minutes ticked by, Megatron finally decided that he would go. Realizing that it was quarter to ten, he turned to Angelique who was flipping through channels on his television. "I'm going to go meet with Optimus," he said, "Stay here."

"But I don't want to _stay here_," she replied, "You can't keep me here against my will you know. That's like kidnapping."

"I will go and talk with Optimus," Megatron remarked, "When I get back, we will talk. Alright?"

She groaned before mumbling, "Alright."

He gave her a quick kiss before he left the room.

* * *

When the appointed hour arrived, James, Trevor, and Nick met Dan outside of the building where he had the snowmobiles ready to go. "So what's the plan?" James asked as he pulled his coat tighter around him, the snow that was blowing in the wind was so cold that it felt like the edge of a knife when it hit his skin.

Dan proceeded to hand each of them a gun before saying, "We're going to get Kyle back. I may say a word or two to Optimus or Megatron as a warning."

"How do we know they won't go after us when we get inside?" Nick asked.

"We could take hostages," Trevor suggested with a shrug as he got on one of the snowmobiles, "Aurora, Angelique, and Joey would be the best targets. Joey can put up a fight though, so let's aim for securing Aurora and Angelique until our demands are met."

Dan nodded, "We'll do that. But we will not harm them unless it is absolutely necessary. Come on, let's go."

Nick proceeded to get on the snow machine with Trevor while Dan and James got on the other. They then headed towards the base.

* * *

Optimus felt relieved when Megatron showed up at the conference room. The Decepticon leader immediately noticed his expression of relief, which caused him to frown and say, "Don't look so relieved, Optimus. We still have a lot of sensitive matters to discuss. Who knows what will become of the alliance after this."

"Very well," Optimus mused, unsure of how he felt about this. He took a seat at the table, Megatron sitting on the other side across from him.

"Alright, so you got me here," Megatron said, "What is it that you want?"

"I would like to discuss your behavior yesterday."

"I am a Decepticon, Optimus. Torturing a prisoner—

"Is not what I came here to discuss," the Autobot leader interrupted, "I want to talk about what you said after Kyle was removed from the room."

Megatron narrowed his optics at the Autobot leader, "If I don't recall, you did threaten to take Angelique away from me."

"I will not live up to that threat unless it is absolutely necessary. As of right now, I have no reason to take Angelique away from you. However," he said, "I do need to know if you are willing to make sacrifices in order to allow this alliance between us to continue to work."

"And just what kind of sacrifices are you expecting me to make?" Megatron asked, feeling anger well up inside of him, "I gave up the war. I've kept Angelique safe. I've saved Joey's life. Just because I tortured someone who had threatened, kidnapped, and worked to kill Aurora, Angelique, and Joey, I get treated like this by you?"

The Autobot leader groaned seeing that this wasn't going to be easy. "Yes, you have done a lot of good since the alliance was formed, but you have also done a lot of bad. At one point in time, you almost killed Angelique; you refused to assist us when Aurora was kidnapped. And after witnessing your latest actions, I think it's safe to say you're still dangerous."

"Optimus, you cannot expect me to change _who_ I am."

"I am not asking you to change, Megatron. I feel a set of rules should be set up in order to maintain this armistice."

Megatron groaned this time. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Dan was surprised by the enormity of the base. Though he had memorized the layout, seeing the base in person rather than behind a computer or television screen gave a completely different perspective. He quickly shook off his astonishment as he stepped further into the base, the rest of the gang members following him.

"Should we split up?" Trevor asked.

"No," Dan replied, "Let's make finding Aurora and Angelique our top priority for now. We need leverage against the Autobots and Decepticons."

However, they didn't have to wander far when they heard someone pounding against a door. "Megatron!" an angry female voice shouted from the other side of the door, "I can't believe you locked me in here! Let me _out_!"

Dan and the others exchanged glances as Nick muttered, "It's Angelique."

"Let me out!" she shouted again before pausing.

With cat-like reflexes, Dan proceeded to open the door and grab Angelique by the arm before she had a chance to understand what happened. After she was secured, Dan couldn't help but smirk as she said, "I guess you guys came looking for Kyle."

"Right you are," Dan replied, "Where is he?"

"I honestly don't know."

"What about Megatron?"

"He's meeting with Optimus."

"Well, since you're not giving specifics, it looks like we'll have to go hunt them down," Dan remarked as he forced Angelique to walk forward, "I promise if you cooperate, no one gets hurt."

Angelique sighed glumly. For now, she had no other choice than to follow along.

* * *

Aurora wasn't surprised when she heard the door to the hangout open suddenly. Thinking it was either Joey or her sister, she didn't bother to look over as she flipped through television channels trying to find something to watch. She couldn't help but smirk and exclaim, "Alright, which form of trouble just came in, Joey or Angelique?"

"You're right about the trouble part."

Aurora jumped up and whipped around completely shocked when she saw the gang standing there. She felt her gears turn in fear when she saw that Dan had her sister in a headlock. "N-No," she stammered, "You can't be in here, let my sister go!"

"Calm down," Dan said, "If you do as I say, nobody will get hurt. Come here, Aurora. I have a few questions for you."

"No," she said.

"Boys."

Aurora watched in horror as the other gang members stepped forward and easily surrounded her before apprehending her and bringing her over to Dan. He looked down at her, a smirk on his face as he said, "I see you recovered nicely from where I shot you. Let me guess, the transformers made you a robot too?"

Aurora didn't answer him; she simply scowled back at him before asking, "What do you want?"

"You wouldn't happen to know where Kyle is, would you?"

"He's in the med bay," she replied.

"And Optimus and Megatron?"

She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Why do you want to know where they are?"

"I figured I could pay them a little visit. It's about time we properly introduced ourselves."

"They're in the conference room," Aurora admitted.

"Excellent," Dan replied, "Come on boys. We find Optimus and Megatron, we find Kyle."

Trevor, Nick, and James exchanged glances before following Dan—who was still holding onto Angelique—out of the room with Aurora in tow.

* * *

"What kind of rules?" Megatron groaned, "Ones about treatment of prisoners? Ones about threatening another person's mate?"

"So you do recognize Angelique as your mate?" Optimus asked.

The Decepticon leader pursed his lips to the side. "Angelique is the only person I will ever recognize as my mate," he replied.

Optimus sighed heavily, "Megatron, do realize I am not here to belittle you or your beliefs. I only wish to protect our mates. Don't you want the best for Angelique?"

"I _am_ the best for Angelique."

"But her safety?"

"I will take her away from here if I have to."

"No, Megatron. Shouldn't we work together to keep everyone safe, not just our mates, but our men as well?"

He frowned, thinking of Starscream before replying, "Yes, I suppose."

"And the alliance is in everyone's best interest."

"Yes…"

"And I am sure there are things you would like me to change in order to keep it safe."

"You want to combine our ideas, our beliefs, to create a set of rules we should follow in order to protect the alliance?"

Optimus nodded, "Precisely."

Megatron scoffed, "I think that's impossible."

The Autobot leader sighed, "I do not believe we can come up with a fair set of rules in one sitting. We should consult with our men as well and then meet again and lay out what we've come up with."

Megatron, however, still wasn't pleased, but he didn't want this meeting to drag on any longer. "That sounds reasonable," he mused unenthusiastically, "We'll arrange that meeting at another time then."

"Until then," Optimus said as he extended his hand to Megatron.

Before the Decepticon leader could shake it, there was a sudden knock at the door. Confused, both leaders looked to the door before Optimus asked, "Who is it?"

"We need to come in," a muffled though frantic voice said, "It's kind of an emergency. Think you could unlock the door?"

"Angelique?" Megatron remarked, surprised. He had locked her inside of his quarters; there was no way she could have gotten out, not unless someone let her out. And what did she mean by an emergency?

"We?" Optimus asked before giving the command for the door to unlock.

"We," a man replied as the door opened.

The air felt like it had been sucked out of the room as Angelique and Aurora were forced inside. A scowl went across both leaders' faces as they observed the four men that were holding Aurora and Angelique captive.

"Let me guess," Megatron stated as he balled his fists, "You're the rest of that gang."

"Good guess. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Daniel McHugh."

"What are you doing here?" Optimus asked, his voice laced with venom.

"I have a few questions I want answered, I would also like Kyle returned to me. If you cooperate with me, nobody will get hurt," and he gestured to Angelique and Aurora who were both being held in headlocks by other gang members, guns pressed against their heads.

Megatron and Optimus exchanged glances before the Autobot leader said, "Alright, let's talk."

"Megatron to Starscream," the Decepticon leader spoke into his comlink.

"Starscream here."

"Starscream, this is an emergency. I need you to go to the med bay and get Kyle. Bring him to the conference room immediately."

"I'm on it sir, Starscream out."

"Alright then," Megatron said as he looked to Daniel and the rest of the gang, deciding how to go about this, "What is it that you want?"

"Well, I'll be frank. For the longest time I've wanted to capture all of you and sell you, but I simply do not have the means of doing so," Dan replied, "However, I still have other ways of wreaking a profit from your metal hides."

"And pray tell, what might that be?" Megatron asked, his fist beginning to glow.

"Easy now," Dan remarked as he leveled his gun at Angelique, "I know you have a weakness for this one. We saw what you did to Kyle. I really don't want to have to do the same to Angelique. She is a very pretty girl."

"Yeah, well, you're a creep," Angelique spat back, struggling against Nick's heavy arms.

"Hold still," Nick ordered, pressing the gun tighter against her head. She stopped struggling.

Dan let a light chuckle pass his lips as Megatron stood down, however he was still scowling. Feeling uneasy about this whole situation, Optimus said, "Surely you want information, you wouldn't be going through all this trouble just to harass us."

"Clever you are, Optimus. There are a few things I'm curious about, but what I really want to know is how you changed these two human girls into machines."

"You ever heard of Autobot or Decepticon programming?" Optimus asked, "The programming reacted with their DNA, however, only extreme stress triggers the reaction. The programming saved both Angelique and Aurora's lives by turning them into gynoids."

"And let me guess, you and Megatron are the only ones capable of giving the programming?"

"Correct."

"And you certainly won't be getting any," Megatron added.

"Well obviously it's not that impressive considering how weak Aurora and Angelique still are," Dan mused.

"Why don't you hand them back over?" Optimus asked.

"Not until Kyle is back with us."

Both Megatron and Optimus tensed. This wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

Joey nearly jumped out of her synthetic flesh when Starscream suddenly burst into the med bay. He immediately went over to Kyle and yanked him to his feet, terrifying the man as he struggled to get out of the Decepticon's vice grip.

"Starscream, what's going on? What are you doing?" Joey asked as she approached the second in command.

He looked to her, "I have orders from Megatron to take him to the conference room immediately."

"I don't think so," Red Alert said, intervening, "A patient cannot leave the med bay without my permission."

"Megatron said to bring him, eh?" Joey asked as she crossed her arms, "What are you guys going to do? Torture him some more?"

"Megatron said it was an emergency."

Red Alert laughed, "Megatron has an _emergency_? What kind of emergency could possibly involve _my_ patient?"

"Drop it, Red!" Starscream said, "I'm taking _your_ patient whether you like it or not, and if you try to stop me, you'll be putting yourself back together." And with that, he opened a dimension gate and disappeared through it with Kyle.

"Starscream!" Joey shouted angrily as she chased him through the dimension gate.

Red Alert watched it close before muttering, "This isn't going to end well."

* * *

Both Optimus and Megatron were relieved when they saw the dimension gate open behind Dan and the rest of the gang members. They watched as Starscream stepped through with Kyle before Joey came through, obviously angry. However, her angry quickly faded when she saw the situation unfolding in the room. But just as quickly as her anger disappeared, a scowl surfaced on her face as she yelled, "You!"

The gang members turned as Joey marched up to James, who was holding Aurora captive. Before he had a chance to react, she slapped the gun out of his hand, saying, "You worthless piece of scum! I ought to kill you for nearly killing me!"

"Jo…baby…this isn't exactly a good time…" James mused.

"Don't you baby me!" she yelled as she pulled Aurora out of his grasp and pushed her towards Optimus, who caught her in his arms.

"He's the one that shot you?" Starscream remarked.

"Stand down, Starscream," Megatron said, "I think Joey has him under control."

"You bet I do," Joey said as she rammed her knee into his groin.

"God damn it," he spat as he crumpled to the ground, tears in his eyes.

"That's got to hurt," Aurora chuckled.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Angelique remarked.

A gunshot brought silence to the room. Everyone looked to Dan, who had fired a warning shot. "Enough!" he shouted, "Hand Kyle over."

Starscream released him and Kyle stepped forward. Optimus waited a moment before saying, "Alright, you got what you wanted, now hand over Angelique."

Megatron tensed as he watched James pick up his gun and get back on his feet. The Decepticon leader did not have a good feeling about this as his fist began to glow again.

"Stop that," Dan said, pointing his gun at Megatron's hand, "We're not finished yet."

"Yes we are," James remarked as he leveled his gun at Dan's head, "Let Angelique go and consider this our resignation."

"W-What?" Dan exclaimed, shock coursing through him.

"You heard what I said," James said, "Drop your gun or else I'm going to squeeze the trigger."

His gun clattered to the floor and Nick grinned proudly as he let Angelique go. She stumbled over to Megatron, who immediately tucked her protectively under his arm.

"You mean, we're ditching this creep?" Trevor asked as he kicked Dan's gun away from him.

"Yes," James replied as he lowered his gun, "And we're going home. I've had enough of this town."

"You aren't the only one," Kyle said as he headed for the door, "Wait, what about her?" He pointed to Joey.

"Her?" James asked, "She chose to be here. Besides, she kicked me in the balls, hell if I let her back in the gang."

"You show your face around here again I'll chop them off!" Joey shouted as they left the room. Dan went running out after they were gone, causing the transformers to laugh.

"That was unexpected," Starscream said as he went over to Joey and wrapped an arm around her.

"But nonetheless, extremely beneficial," Optimus replied, "It's definitely a lot less pressure now that they're gone. I don't think we've seen the last of Daniel McHugh though. He'll want revenge for the way he was humiliated."

"Until then, we'll be waiting," Megatron said as he pulled Angelique closer to him.

"Well, since the crisis is averted," Angelique mused, "We should celebrate."

"Celebrate?" Megatron remarked.

She nodded, grinning, "Have you ever built a snowman?"

* * *

Dan slammed his fists down on his desk, snarling angrily. "Damn it!" he yelled as he stood up and paced his office. "Betrayed," he seethed, "Humiliated! This _isn't_ over!" He roared again as he whirled back around and glared down at his desk.

A flash-drive stared back up at him.

"That's it!" he remarked as he sat down at his desk and scooped the drive up and immediately plugged it into his computer. He reviewed all the footage he had compiled of the transformers, grinning eagerly, sadistically.

He watched Megatron and Starscream torture Kyle yet again.

"Oh no," he chuckled, "This is _far_ from over."

He dug an envelope out of his desk and looked up the address for the local news station. He scribbled it on the front of the envelope before including his return address. He dropped the flash-drive inside before sealing the envelope shut. He stuck a stamp in the corner before getting up and grabbing his coat. The post office was still open; he had a package he needed delivered. Dan grinned wickedly as he headed out the door, envelope in hand.

The media was going to love this.

* * *

Next chapter will be all about the TFs adventures in the snow. Until then, please review!


	36. Hide and Go Seek

I apologize for the wait, I haven't really been busy but I've been distracted by other things. I also started writing another story, it's not on this website yet, probably won't be, but I had to get it out of my system while it was bothering me. Anyways, thanks for all the reviews I've been getting for this story, I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 36: Hide and Go Seek**

"So, Joey," Angelique remarked as she, Aurora, and Joey headed through the base towards the house, "Have you ever seen snow?"

Joey glanced at her before rolling her eyes. "Did you seriously just ask that?" she remarked as they exited the base and entered the basement of the home.

"She's a little blond," Aurora remarked as the three of them ascended the stairs. They went over to a closet and proceeded to put on winter coats, gloves, and boots.

"I see that," Joey replied as they headed towards the door that led to the garage, "You know Angelique; I am from New York City. It's a 5-6 hour drive from this town. I've seen a fair share of snow in my lifetime. It just never stays in the city very long."

"Well then," Aurora said as they stepped into the garage, "I hope you like snow. When it comes here, it stays for nearly six months."

"I think I can manage," Joey remarked as Angelique and Aurora proceeded to rummage around the garage, "What are you guys looking for?"

Angelique tugged a hot pink two-person plastic sled off the wall while Aurora grabbed a blue, saucer-shaped sled. Angelique handed the hot pink sled to Aurora before taking down a snowboard that was hanging on the wall. "What do you think you're doing with dad's snowboard?" Aurora asked, "Just because he and mom are at work right now doesn't mean you can use it."

"I'm not going to break it," she replied, "I just want to try it."

Aurora shrugged, "You break it, you're screwed."

"I know," Angelique said as she went over to the garage door and opened it, "Holy goodness!"

"Well, I can see why they closed school," Aurora remarked as she observed the snow had drifted higher than her waist.

"And just _how_ are we supposed to get to the hill to go sledding?" Joey wanted to know as she crossed her arms.

"Easy," Angelique remarked, "We walk." And she plunged into the deep snow.

Joey sighed heavily as she took one of the sleds from Aurora and followed in Angelique's path. She was relieved that the snow only went to her knees once she got past the garage door. However, the wind and deep snow made walking more strenuous than what it needed to be. By the time they got to the top of the steep hill where they planned to go sledding, the three girls were out of breath. When they finally did catch their breath, Aurora asked, "So, who wants to go down first?"

"Not me," Joey said, "This hill is a lot steeper and longer than I thought it was."

"Don't be a coward," Angelique remarked as she took the blue sled.

"Maybe we should wait for the others to get here," Aurora said.

"They're coming," Angelique stated as she sat down on the sled, "Someone give me a push."

Aurora came over to give her a push before asking, "Do you want to spin?"

"I don't really feel like throwing up."

"Alright then," Aurora said as she gave her sister a light push.

The younger sibling let out a yelp of joy as she raced to the bottom of the hill. When she finally stopped she fell over laughing. "You guys got to try this!" she exclaimed as she got to her feet and proceeded to walk back up the hill.

"Going down the hill means having to walk back up," Joey stated.

"Are you scared?" Angelique asked once she got back to the top.

"Of course not!"

Angelique shrugged, "I'll go down in the pink sled with you if you want. If you get going too fast, just use your feet or hands to stop or slow down."

"Fine," Joey remarked.

Angelique laid out the pink sled before looking to Joey and asking, "Do you want the front or back?"

"Front," she replied as she got in the sled.

"Okay, now I can either go down on my knees—

"That's what she said."

"Shut up…or I can sit behind you, but you'd be between my legs."

"That's also what she said," Joey remarked causing Aurora to chuckle and Angelique to glare, "You can sit. I've never been between a girl's legs before." And she winked.

"You are awful," Angelique remarked as she settled herself in the sled, extending her legs past Joey.

"You guys ready?" Aurora asked as she came up to give the sled push.

"I guess so," Joey remarked.

Aurora proceeded to give them a push and they started descending down the hill. Joey closed her eyes as they started gaining momentum and snow started spraying up in her face. "Hey now," she remarked as she turned her head, "This hurts!"

"Well then, we'll stop," Angelique replied.

She went to swing her legs into the snow, but her movements caused the sled to suddenly veer sideways and towards a cluster of bushes that surrounded some rocks. "Angelique!" Joey shouted.

"Just hold still!"

The sled suddenly tipped over and Joey and Angelique spilled out of it, causing them to do a few somersaults before finally coming to a stop. They ended up a few feet apart.

"Are you guys alright?" Aurora shouted from the top of the hill.

Angelique sat up, chuckling, "That was fun."

Joey shook her head as she slowly climbed to her feet, "Remind me to never do that again."

"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad," Angelique stated as she picked up the sled and went back to the top of the hill, Joey following her.

For the next several minutes, Joey contented herself by flipping through songs on her iPod as she watched Aurora and Angelique slide down the hill together. She briefly wondered what Optimus, Starscream, and Megatron were doing, but then remembered they were patrolling the area to make sure the gang members were in fact gone.

"Hey, are we late to the party?"

Joey looked over only to see that Wing-Saber, Lynk, Jetfire, Sky-Shadow, Hotshot, and Override had come out. The older girl was just about to respond when Angelique came up and exclaimed, "Of course not!"

"It's not much of a party though," Aurora said.

"We could make it a party," Wing-Saber suggested.

"I think we should play a game," Joey remarked.

"What kind of game?" Sky-Shadow asked.

"What about a Capture the Flag themed snowball fight?" Angelique suggested, "We'll divide into teams, build forts, and instead of tagging each other, we throw snowballs?"

"Sounds interesting," Override stated, "But what's Capture the Flag?"

Aurora went on to explain the rules of the game. The objective was to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's 'base,' and bring it back to their own base. Instead of enemy players being tagged by members of the opposite team, they would be out if they were hit by a snowball, and placed in jail behind enemy lines. They could be freed if tagged by a team member.

After seeing how simple the rules were, the others agreed to play. However, they weren't sure how to divide into teams. "Femmes versus mechs?" Lynk suggested.

"That would mean six against three," Jetfire stated, "That's not fair."

"Well, three of them are gynoids," Wing-Saber stated, "Plus we're battle trained, besides Override, none of the femmes or gynoids are."

Joey elbowed Angelique before whispering, "Little does he know Megatron trained you and I grew up street fighting in a gang."

"They'll need all the help they can get," Hotshot stated, "Let's do this."

With the teams decided, they went about making forts. The mechs immediately staked a claim at the top of the hill since they were outnumbered. Glumly, the girls built there's at the bottom of the hill, but the guys allowed them to have a little extra territory since they would have to cover a greater distance in order to get to the flag. Wing-Saber made a deep groove in the snow to divide each fort's boundaries. If anyone from the opposite team stepped across it, they were fair game to snowballs.

For flags, they used chamois cloths that Sky-Shadow and Lynk used to clean themselves off with. The flag the mechs had to capture was pink; the flag the girls had to capture was yellow. They were just about to begin the game when Megatron, Optimus, and Starscream appeared at the top of the hill.

"Oh, good," Jetfire remarked, "Reinforcements!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Angelique exclaimed.

"Yes it is!" Wing-Saber protested, "Six people on your team, we'll have six people on ours."

"Yeah, but _both_ Optimus Prime and Megatron?" Aurora stated.

"What's going on?" Optimus ask.

Jetfire proceeded to explain the game they were playing and how they were outnumbered, even though they had the advantage of the hill. Megatron, Optimus, and Starscream expressed interest in playing, and since the teams had been divided into mechs versus femmes, Optimus, Starscream, and Megatron went with the other mechs.

"Okay," Joey said as she sank down below the wall of their snow fortress so that the other mechs couldn't see her, "We need to come up with a new battle strategy if they're on that team and have the advantage of the hill."

"Knowing them, since they're mechs, they're going to be all bravado and go on the attack," Sky-Shadow said, "We're going to have to go on the defensive until they wear out."

"It's not fair they have the advantage of the hill," Lynk stated as she peeked around the wall they had built, "They're planning something."

"Who here is good at throwing?" Override asked, "I've got speed on my side."

"I used to play softball," Angelique said.

However, before they could hash together a plan, a taunting voice called, "You girls coming out or not?"

They looked to see Jetfire, Wing-Saber, and Hotshot standing at the edge of the boundary. Aurora ducked back down and said, "Get the snowballs ready. Since we're not transformers, I say Joey, Angelique, and I will stay together and guard the flag. Lynk, Sky-Shadow, Override, you'll have to go outside the fort as the first line of defense. For now, I don't think we should go after the flag. We should work on imprisoning the others. If we can imprison enough, then maybe we can make a break for the flag."

"Sounds like a plan," Override stated as she stood and ventured out from behind the fortress, Lynk and Sky-Shadow following her.

"Okay," Aurora stated, "No doubt Optimus and Megatron have something brilliant concocted in order to get the flag. They might be able to predict our every move, but somehow we need to outwit them. If we're lucky, Jetfire, Wing-Saber, and Hotshot will let their bravado get the best of them."

"What are you suggesting?" Angelique asked.

"We might have to use our bodies as weapons."

"I'm liking the sounds of this," Joey remarked, "Aurora, Optimus wouldn't expect it from you. You should distract him with a sexy strip tease."

"Not right now," she said, "We need to figure out how we're going to get up that hill."

"Sneak someone in?" Angelique suggested, "Override can transform into a car, that'd be the fastest way up the hill. She'd have to dodge the snowballs though, but if she can dodge lasers and missiles, she could probably dodge a snowball. One of us could go up inside of her."

"Good idea," Aurora said, "All we have to do is get the flag to our side."

"The snow board is up there," Angelique said, "Someone could take that down."

"Not me," Joey stated.

"I ski," Aurora remarked, "I don't snowboard. Angelique, dad's given you a few lessons, you're the only one that knows how."

"That's what I was afraid of."

"Somehow though, we're going to have to distract the guys—

"Oh, no problem," Joey remarked as she took off her coat. She proceeded to take her bra off and slide it out from under her shirt. "Watch a pro at work," she stated before standing up. "Oh boys!" she hollered as she waved her bra, "Anyone want to capture _my_ flag?"

"Can we see your boobs if we do?" Wing-Saber asked.

"Hey!" Lynk remarked.

"I'm just asking."

"Whoever gets my bra can," Joey stated with a smirk.

"Hey now," Starscream remarked as he appeared from behind the other fortress.

"That's a pretty good sized bra there," Jetfire stated, "Hey guys, we could tag team this."

"I don't _think_ so!" Starscream stated as he came forward. He charged across enemy lines and up to Joey. "I'm the only one who can see," he stated as he snatched the bra out of her hands.

Joey proceeded to shove a snowball into his face, "You'll have to wait until later, sweetheart. Take your sexy aft to jail."

Starscream grumbled as he walked to the designated prison location, Joey taking her bra back in the process. She put it back on before looking to Aurora and Angelique, "One down, five more to go."

"Come on," Lynk taunted, "Aren't one of you boys going to step across the line?"

"Ladies first," Wing-Saber replied, "Our duty is to guard the line."

"So is ours."

"Looks like we're at a bit of a stalemate then," Hotshot remarked.

"Someone could _attempt_ to rescue me," Starscream stated, "But I suppose the rest of my teammates are cowards."

"Hey now!" Hotshot remarked. He proceeded to transform and drive across the line, but Override immediately assaulted him with snowballs. Instead of freeing Starscream, he ended up joining him.

"And that is why no one has rescued you," Wing-Saber stated, "Now we're down two men."

"Somehow we got to get Megatron or Optimus," Aurora stated. She stood up and said, "Sky-Shadow, Lynk, Override, come here!"

The three femmes came over. "What's up?" Sky-Shadow asked.

"Think you guys could bring down Jetfire and Wing-Saber?" Aurora asked, "They are standing so close to the line. I wouldn't expect them to get physical, but if you can wrestle them and pin them down, then all we would have to do is get the flag."

"And how would we get the flag?" Lynk asked.

"Well, if Hotshot was able to drive in the snow, it shows you guys got the tires to drive up this hill," Aurora stated, "Override, when Lynk and Sky-Shadow attack, you need to charge up that hill with Angelique inside of you. You will have to do everything in your power to keep from getting hit by snowballs while Angelique secures the flag and brings it back to our side."

"Sounds feasible," Override stated.

"We'll go for it exactly two minutes from now," Aurora remarked, "We can't waste time, especially when Optimus and Megatron could pull something any second."

"Alright," Override said, "Lynk, Sky, you guys go back out there. If you successfully bring your boys down, Megatron and Optimus will have to come out. Joey, Aurora, you might have to help me distract them. No matter what, do not leave our flag unguarded."

"Let's do this," Lynk stated as she and Sky-Shadow returned to guard the line.

Override proceeded to transform and Angelique got inside. When the two minutes expired, Aurora shouted, "Now!"

Lynk and Sky-Shadow pounced, and before Jetfire and Wing-Saber had even hit the ground, Override had torn past them and headed up the hill. She was nearly to the top when Optimus and Megatron emerged from behind their fort, armed with snowballs. Override spun suddenly, causing snow to spray at the Autobot and Decepticon leaders, distracting them enough to allow her to get to the top of the hill. She performed the same maneuver as Angelique tumbled out so that Optimus and Megatron wouldn't see her. She then charged towards the flag. She had just transformed and picked it up when Optimus stopped her, snowball ready. "I don't think so," he stated.

"Override, toss it here!" Angelique stated as she appeared out of nowhere.

Grinning, Override tossed her the flag, which she caught. "What, no!" Megatron exclaimed as Angelique took off with the flag on the snowboard. He started after her, but it was too late. She made it back to her territory before he could get within snowball-throwing-range.

"That's game!" Joey exclaimed, "We win!"

"Yeah, you cheated," Starscream said as he approached her, "You distracted me with your bra."

She shrugged, "You didn't have to fall for it."

"I think we should go back to the base and play something a little more fair," Wing-Saber stated as he Lynk helped him up.

"Like what?" Optimus asked.

"Hide and go seek," Wing-Saber suggested, "And I think we should get Red Alert and Syndrome to participate in it since they're always cooped up in the med bay."

"How are you going to get him to play hide and go seek?" Aurora asked.

"Yeah, he gets pissed whenever I walk in the med bay," Angelique added as she freed herself from the snowboard.

"Easy, I'll order him," Optimus answered.

"Guess it's decided then," Megatron mused.

"Well, we'll meet you down in the base," Aurora said, "We have to put the sleds and everything away."

"I'll help," Joey stated.

Optimus nodded as the rest of the transformers headed back to the base. Angelique, Aurora, and Joey gathered up the sleds and headed back to the house. They first went to the garage where they put everything away. They then went inside and put their winter gear away before going down into the basement and slipping into the base. They proceeded to the hangout where they met up with the rest of the transformers, including a disgruntled looking Red Alert and Syndrome. Apparently on the way back to the base, Optimus radioed him and told the medical officer and his assistant to meet him at the hangout. Red Alert, however, did not appreciate being conned into a game of hide and go seek by the Autobot leader. Nevertheless, he went along with it.

"So how do we want to do this?" Wing-Saber asked, "Should we split into teams?"

"Teams of two," Red Alert stated, "It'd be easiest."

"In that case," Jetfire remarked as he wrapped an arm around Sky-Shadow, "I have my hiding buddy."

And that's how it went. Optimus partnered himself with Aurora, Megatron with Angelique, Starscream with Joey, Wing-Saber with Lynk, Hotshot with Override, and Red Alert with Syndrome. After that was decided, Aurora said, "Maybe we should establish some rules about where people can and can't hide."

After a brief debate, they decided that the person who was it would count from the hangout, that meant no one could hide in there. The person who was 'it' could not use the surveillance cameras for assistance, and nobody could hide in their quarters, the Autobot or Decepticon command centers, the med bay, or outside of the base. Once found by the person that was 'it,' the people were out and had to return to the hangout.

"So, who wants to be it?" Hotshot asked.

"Not me," Joey stated.

"We'll be it," Red Alert volunteered.

"Really?" Syndrome asked, looking up at him.

"I don't necessarily feel like squeezing into a questionably sanitary space in an effort to avoid being found," he explained.

Nobody questioned him and Megatron proceeded to say, "Alright, wait about 20 minutes. We're going to go hide."

"Fair enough," Red Alert mused.

And with that, the Autobots and Decepticons filed out of the hangout, Red Alert and Syndrome staying behind.

* * *

"The training room, really?" Sky-Shadow asked as she followed Jetfire inside.

He shrugged, "We don't want to make this too difficult for Red. He doesn't get out much. Plus this place has T.V."

Sky-Shadow shook her head as she went over the lounging area and sat down on a small sofa. Jetfire sat down beside her and reached for the remote when he stopped and looked at her. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"You know, we are alone, and there's still a few minutes until Red and Syndrome come looking," he said.

"No. The last thing I want is to be found in a compromising position with you."

He smirked, "Something wrong with that?"

She handed him the remote. Jetfire sighed, defeated.

* * *

"Optimus, isn't this cheating?"

"How so?" he asked as he guided Aurora into his office.

"Well, your office is part of your quarters."

"But it's not my quarters, it's my office."

"If you say so," she stated with a shrug. Aurora watched him as he sat down at his desk. "Wait a minute," she remarked, "You're not actually planning on working right now, are you?"

"Well, if I have the time…" he stopped as he watched her cross her arms. He studied her for a moment before asking, "Do you think Red Alert and Syndrome would find it unprofessional of me if they caught us kissing?"

"No," Aurora replied with a smirk, "Not unless I was naked."

A devious look flashed through his optics as he motioned for her to come closer.

* * *

"What are you talking about, this place is perfect!"

"Wing-Saber, I am a _femme_! Sitting on the dusty floor of a storage unit behind a grimy crate is _not_ perfect," Lynk replied, crossing her arms.

"It was here or it was the bathroom and you _know_ I am not going in there."

"The bathroom isn't even being used anymore, Angelique, Aurora, and Joey aren't human," Joey protested.

"Well, if you want to go cower beside the porcelain throne—

"Ugh, why do I put up with you?"

"Because you love me," he said and he gave her a gentle smile.

Lynk stared at him for a moment, her angry scowl melting into a smile. She blushed and quickly looked away before admitting, "Well, if you're in here with me I guess this place isn't that bad."

He smiled as he wrapped an arm around her.

* * *

"Sure is dark in here," Joey mused as Starscream closed the door to the tiny supply closet they were in. He sat beside her on the floor.

"Don't worry, I'm probably the scariest thing in here," he replied, "Besides, they're so many of these closets, it'll take a while for Red Alert or Syndrome to find us."

"So…you and me, in a dark closet, alone, for an unspecified amount of time…"

"You said whoever captured your bra would get to see your boobs…"

Joey smirked as she briefly lifted her shirt and bra for him before readjusting her clothes and leaned back against the wall. Starscream sighed heavily, "Now I have needs."

She looked to him, "Needs?"

"What do you say you and I play a game?" he asked.

"What game?"

"Capture the panties," he replied as he moved closer to her.

She chuckled, "But, what if I'm not wearing any?"

"Oh, don't tell me that," he remarked, his voice full of lust, "Come on, we've got time for some shenanigans."

"What if we get caught?"

Starscream shrugged, "Red Alert and Syndrome can watch."

Joey shook her head before leaning over and kissing him.

* * *

"You're not very good at this whole hiding thing," Override stated as she leaned against the sink that was in the bathroom.

Hotshot eyed the toilet warily, "You got any better ideas?"

"Sure," Override stated as she walked over to the shower that was in the bathroom, "Take a shower with me and help me forget exactly where we are."

"But, what if Red and Syndrome come?"

"I'm sure they've seen worse," Override remarked as she turned the water on.

Hotshot looked to the door and back to her before stepping forward and saying, "Well, there's no way I'm saying no!" And he got in the shower with her.

* * *

"Um, Megatron, are you sure about this place?"

The Decepticon leader turned to Angelique as the door closed behind her before asking, "You have a better idea? Quite honestly, I don't think anyone would come down here."

"But, the prison?"

"Don't worry," he said as he wrapped an arm around her, "I'm not going to lock you up if that's what you're afraid of."

"No, I'm not afraid," she stated as she leaned against him, "Just a little weirded out."

"Well, we can't have that," he remarked.

"So, we can leave?"

"No, you just need to forget we're here," he said as he leaned down and kissed her briefly, "How's that?"

"That'll work."

He smirked and closed the distance between them.

* * *

When the 20 minutes expired, Red Alert opened his comm. to the appropriate channels and announced, "Ready or not, here I come!" He promptly ended the transmission before sitting back down on the couch and picking up the television remote.

Syndrome eyed him for a moment before saying, "Uh, Red Alert?"

"Yes, Syndrome?"

"Aren't you going to go find them?"

"No, why else would I volunteer to be it? Now, come sit and watch T.V. with me."

Syndrome hesitated, "But, what about the others?"

He shrugged, "They'll figure it out eventually."

Giving up, Syndrome shook her head and sat beside him. The Autobot medic wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer causing his assistant to give a small smile. "I suppose it's not too bad getting out of the med bay once and a while," Red Alert admitted.

"No, I certainly don't mind."

He gave a small smile, commanding the lights to dim to a soft glow as he leaned over and captured Syndrome's lips with his.

* * *

The intern wasn't sure what to think of the envelope that had been dropped off at the news station. It was from Daniel McHugh, the former chairman of the Smiths Landing village board. Thinking it could prove to be interesting, he opened the envelope. A flash-drive fell out of the envelope and landed on his desk. Curious, he took it over to his computer and plugged it in. There were several video files saved on the drive. Without much thinking, he opened one of them and began watching. Before the intern realized it, he had burned several hours watching all the videos.

Slack-jawed, he went over to the phone where he dialed his boss' department. "Hey Tom," he said when his boss picked up, "Sorry to bug you, but something really interesting just came in. It's from Daniel McHugh. You're going to want to see this."

* * *

Please review!


	37. Making Headlines

So, this will probably be the last time that I update before I go back to college since I go back Saturday (yay so excited to go back to hell...NOT!). After this, I can't say when I'll update again, but I'll try to make it as soon as possible. At least Transformers Prime is coming back on Friday, so you can enjoy that until I update again.

* * *

**Chapter 37: Making Headlines**

Daniel McHugh wasn't surprised when he got a phone call early the next morning from the WCBS news station wondering if they could send someone out for an immediate interview. Daniel, however, was more than willing to oblige. As he spoke on the phone with a representative of the news station, he glanced out the window only to see that the roads had been cleared from the snowstorm the previous day.

"How does 10:30 sound for you?" the representative asked.

"That's just fine, though, may I ask who will be coming?"

"We'll send one of our investigative reporters, Lawrence Cutler. Is your living address the same as the return address on the envelope you sent us?"

"Yes it is."

"Excellent, he will be there in an hour," the representative stated, "Have a good day, sir."

"Thank you, you as well," Daniel replied before hanging up and setting his phone down. For the first time in what felt like months, he actually felt good about what was happening. He could see dollar signs when he closed his eyes, he could taste victory when he swallowed. The transformers had caused him so much grief that he could hardly wait to make them pay. He lost the mine because of them, but he wouldn't lose the publicity he would gain from exposing their secret. And, if things went according to plan, he could still gain a valuable profit. But since the gang had abandoned him, all the money that was to be gained would go directly to him; there was no profit to be divided.

Daniel proceeded to tidy up around the house and put on a nice outfit. Just as he finished, the doorbell rang. He checked the time and saw it was 10:30. Grinning, he went over to the door and answered it. At the doorstep was a well-shaven, well-dressed, sandy haired and golden eyed man. "Good morning, sir," the man stated, "I am Lawrence Cutler, I'm a reporter at the local news station, WCBS, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about the videos you sent us."

"Of course," Daniel agreed as he shook the man's hand, "Come inside, Mr. Cutler."

"Please, call me Larry," the man replied as he returned the shake before stepping inside.

They went inside and Dan offered him a seat in the living room before asking, "Is there anything I can get you, coffee, tea?"

"No, I'm fine, I'd rather cut right to the chase," Larry stated.

"Very well," Dan remarked as he sat down. He watched as Larry pulled out a tape recorder and he pressed the record button.

"For the record, the information you give me now, am I allowed to use?" Larry asked.

"Yes."

Lawrence nodded, "Those tapes then, did you record them yourself?"

"In a matter of speaking," Daniel answered, "I discovered the base by sheer accident. I will admit that I broke some laws, however, after my wrongful arrest; I felt it necessary to clear my name. I had cameras positioned around the home of Aurora and Angelique Carlson because I _knew_ that they were hiding mechanical creatures of some kind—

"Were the cameras inside or outside of the home?"

"Both," he answered, "Though, I did not set the cameras up and I will not comment on who placed the cameras around the household. Needless to say, one of the mechanical beings, one who seemed to resemble a dog, discovered one of the cameras and took it into the base that the robots live in. Not only did this blunder allow me to discover where this base was, but it allowed me to actually discover that transformers were real."

"Yes, I did notice that the robots from the video bore a striking resemblance to the Cybertron characters. Are you aware that you may face legal penalties for breaking and entering and possibly invasion of privacy?"

"I am fully aware; however, if anyone sees the disturbing nature of that one video where that man is beaten, I feel my actions will be justifiable."

"And that man is Kyle Taylor, former gang member, am I correct?"

"Yes…but I decline to comment on what he was doing there."

Larry wasn't an idiot; he knew that even though Daniel was trying to come off as the protective citizen, he was really up to no good. However, he could care less as to what kind of trouble the former chairman of the village board was getting himself into. If these videos were real, which was what he really wanted to find out, then they could jumpstart his career. Journalism wasn't an easy career field to succeed in anymore, but if he could report the story that would confirm the existence of the transformers…

Daniel watched as Larry stopped the recording before saying, "I don't really care to get involved in what you did illegally; I just want to get that straight."

"I understand."

He pressed the record button again, "Would it possible to see this base?"

"I couldn't get you in there, legally," Daniel answered, "But there probably are ways…"

* * *

"I think that snowstorm should have lasted the rest of the school year," Angelique groaned as she stepped inside the hangout.

Aurora and Joey looked to her as she came in before Joey asked, "Why, you got a lot of homework?"

"I did, but I got it done."

"Then why are you complaining?" Aurora asked as she eyed the clock. It was 5:30pm.

"Well, it's not _completely_ done. My U.S. History teacher wants to give us a quiz on current events in this area tomorrow, so I have to watch the boring old news and suffer through watching the news reporter that bobbles her head when she talks."

"You could do my Calculus for me," Aurora stated.

"No, thank you," Angelique said as she sat down on the couch, "I'll watch bobble head."

"Maybe something exciting happened," Joey remarked, "Though, in a town as small as this, that's doubtful."

"Hey now, the transformers did come to life in this small town," Aurora responded.

"That's true. But no, I was looking through the town police blotter early today just for the heck of it, and I must say, the crimes people are arrested for are ridiculous," Joey said, "For instance, someone was issued an appearance ticket because they threw dirt on someone's car and were being disorderly. I think that is ridiculous."

"Welcome to Smiths Landing," Aurora stated as the doors to the hangout opened.

"Did you ever hear about the naked lady that attacked a school bus?" Angelique asked.

"Sure, we come in and _that's_ the first thing we hear," Starscream remarked.

The girls looked over only to see that Megatron, Optimus, and Starscream had entered the hangout, obviously finished with their work for the day. Joey brushed him off before looking back to Angelique and saying, "Okay, I didn't hear about that, but now that you brought it up I want to know."

"Alright, this happened a couple months back," Angelique explained, "I'm not sure what bus route it was, but apparently the bus was stopped at a stop sign or something outside of town. There was a house near the stop sign and I guess a woman ran out of the house completely naked and tried to get on the bus, but the driver kept the door closed. She ended up ripping one of the windshield wipers off the bus and running off."

Joey stared for a moment before saying, "Those poor kids…was she arrested?"

"I don't think so," Angelique said, "Apparently she had some kind of mental illness and she had forgotten to take her medication or something."

"Wasn't she a DEC officer?" Aurora asked.

"DEC?" Joey asked.

"Department of Environmental Conservation," Aurora clarified, "They enforce environmental laws, you'll see them patrolling around in the summer."

"Yeah I think I heard she was," Angelique stated with a shrug.

"Well that's only mildly disturbing," Megatron remarked as he sat down next to her, "Is your homework done?"

"Nearly, I just got to watch the local news."

"And you, how's your homework going?" Optimus asked as he sat down next to Aurora.

"I will be done if I can ever get my fried brain to remember what six times seven is," Aurora replied.

"It's the same as the answer to life, the universe, and everything," Angelique stated.

"Oh, right, 42, thanks."

Starscream, Megatron, and Optimus exchanged glances but before they could question how 42 was the answer to life, the universe, and everything, Joey remarked, "It's six o'clock."

"Bobble head time," Angelique stated as she turned on the television.

"Good evening, I'm Matt McClusky," said the male co-anchor.

"And I'm Kate Alexander," the female co-anchor remarked.

"Looks like I missed the headlines," Angelique stated.

"Too bad, you could've watched the headlines and been done," Joey remarked as Starscream sat down beside her.

"We'd like to begin with our top story and for that we'll turn to Lawrence Cutler. Lawrence?"

The camera switched to an image of Lawrence Cutler. "Thanks Matt," Lawrence stated before beginning his report, "While we may have thought we heard the last of Daniel McHugh, it turns out we were wrong."

"Uh-oh," Aurora exclaimed as she turned her attention to the television.

"Earlier this week, we received an envelope from the illustrious Daniel McHugh which contained video evidence supporting his claim that there were robots attacking him the night of his arrest. What we are about to show you is the actual video footage that he has sent us. I must warn you, though; some of the footage is disturbing."

And he proceeded to show some of the footage from where Megatron and Starscream were torturing Kyle in an attempt to make him talk. Megatron noticeably clenched his fist, Joey watched as Starscream clenched his teeth together.

After a bit, the camera switched back to Lawrence who said, "While Daniel McHugh did accept an interview, he was reluctant to discuss just how he obtained this footage of robots that strangely resemble Megatron and Starscream from the Transformers Cybertron cartoon. This base where the robots are residing is supposedly located underground on the property of Steve and Emily Carlson of Smiths Landing. You may remember their daughters, Aurora and Angelique, who claimed to be kidnapped by McHugh earlier this year; however, we have been unable to reach the Carlson family for an interview. We'll continue to follow this story and provide you with whatever information we can. Matt, Kate, back to you."

"Do you um…do you think I'll still have to take that quiz tomorrow if I'm part of the news?" Angelique asked, but when nobody answered her question, she proceeded to turn off the television.

The hangout was eerily quiet for a few moments before Joey finally shook her head and said, "I'd play the blame game, but obviously that'll get us nowhere. What are we going to do? Daniel McHugh released the tape of Kyle being tortured to the _media_. This could end up going worldwide if we don't do something."

"I believe revealing our existence would be a bad idea," Starscream stated.

"We're going to have reporters trying to shove microphones down our throats," Angelique remarked.

"If you guys continue to give us rides to school, people are going to recognize you now," Aurora said.

"We won't have time to relocate the base," Optimus mused, "But keeping others out might become impossible. The location of the base has been revealed to the entire town of Smiths Landing."

"And then some," Joey stated, "I'm sure this news station broadcasts in other towns across the county."

"The tri-county area actually," Angelique said, "So three counties know."

"And if we try to face the problem?" Starscream asked.

"Well, like the reporter said, Daniel McHugh wouldn't discuss how he obtained the footage, so obviously he was doing something illegal," Optimus said, "Though, after watching that video, people may not care he used illegal methods to obtain the footage."

"Damn it, I say we try to face them head on. We shouldn't have to hide and lie. We could explain our side of the story. Besides, think about how many fangirls all of you would have on your side," Joey stated.

"Oh no, I _cannot_ deal with that," Angelique remarked.

"Optimus, you once told me that it's obvious our secret won't stay a secret forever, but they don't ever have to find _us_," Aurora said.

"Leaving is an option," Optimus replied.

"And just where would we go?" Megatron asked, "If we leave, we still risk being found, our faces are on the news. I agree with Joey, we shouldn't have to hide and lie. If we're going to be citizens of this planet, we should be able to freely participate on it."

"If we reveal our existence, the humans will never leave us alone. As I warned Aurora, they may try to take us apart, they might try to use us for our resources, they might want to use us to fight their wars. And even though we always have a choice, if we say no, someone might still come after us and try to force us to help them," Optimus explained, "Aurora, Angelique, and Joey would not be safe. People would want to know how they became gynoids."

"Or they may not," Megatron said, "We ourselves do not have to assist the humans. For all we know, our kind could be scattered all over the globe. There may be some transformers that _want_ to help the humans. It doesn't necessarily have to be us."

"You and Starscream will have a harder time explaining yourselves," Optimus said, "After that footage being aired; you've already left a bad taste in people's mouths."

"It may not be that difficult," Joey said, "Kyle may not want to press charges. He's already in enough legal trouble."

"And I'm sure we could convince him not to," Starscream stated as he made a fist.

"Wouldn't Daniel be surprised if we beat him at his own game," Megatron said with a sly grin.

"I'm not so sure about this," Angelique remarked.

"Let's take the night to think it over," Optimus suggested, "Megatron, we'll meet in the morning to choose a course of action."

"As you wish," Megatron replied.

And it was left at that.

* * *

Aurora and Angelique were hardly surprised when their parents came down into the hangout later that evening. Optimus, Megatron, and Starscream had left to discuss the possibility of revealing themselves with the other Autobots and Decepticons. Aurora and Angelique's parents, however, wanted to know the course of action and just what was going on. It took a little while, but the girls managed to explain to their parents that they weren't sure what was happening yet, the rest of the transformers were still trying to decide.

"So, if reporters come to our house, we decline interviews for now?" their dad asked.

Aurora nodded, "That's probably the best thing. We'll let you know if anything changes."

"Alright," their mom said, "We should probably get in contact with a lawyer."

"Yeah, let's get to work on that," their dad said, "We'll see you kiddos around, but be careful. If anyone gives you trouble, let us know."

"Will do, dad," Angelique stated.

And with that, their parents headed back up to the house. When they were gone, Angelique sighed heavily before asking, "Are all your friends texting you wanting to know what's going on?"

"I've had a few text me," Aurora said, "I've been ignoring them."

"Same here, but I'm also getting people blowing up my Facebook wanting to know what's going on."

"Maybe you should deactivate it for now."

"Maybe," Angelique replied before sighing, "Do you think that they might try to take the transformers away?"

Aurora shrugged, "It's entirely possible. I really don't know what's going to happen from here on out."

"But they can't take them away," Angelique tried to argue, "I mean; they're just like humans underneath all that armor. If they take Megatron away—

"They might considering what he and Starscream did to Kyle."

"But I haven't slept with him yet!"

Aurora face-palmed before saying, "There are bigger problems than _that_ right now. If you're willing to sacrifice that romantic night you wanted with Megatron, there's still tonight if you're _that_ worried."

"Are you worried?"

Aurora paused for a moment. For an instant, she felt her heart break at the possibility of Optimus being taken away from her, of her being taken away from Optimus. "I wouldn't let Daniel McHugh build the mine here," she stated before turning and heading for the exit, "I'll be damned if I let him take the transformers away." And with that, she left the hangout.

* * *

"Starscream?"

He kissed the top of her head as they lay together in the darkness of his room. They had gone to bed a couple hours ago, but neither of them had been able to fall asleep. "Try to get some sleep, Jo," he whispered.

"Do you ever feel afraid?"

"Sometimes," he admitted into the darkness.

"I'm not going to let them take you away from me," she breathed.

"Do you love me, Jovina?"

Joey paused. They had been together months now, long enough for her to debate her feelings for the Decepticon second in command. Neither of them had ever said how they felt, though Joey was well aware of just how much she loved Starscream. She had thought about telling him before, but she never worked up the courage. She had wanted him to say it first, but figured since he was a Decepticon, he never would. But now he was asking.

"Yes," she answered, "With _everything_ I've got."

He kissed her forcefully, slowly, deeply. "They can't tear us apart," he breathed, his optics meeting her gaze, "No one can."

She snuggled closer to him and he held her tighter in his arms. "Starscream," she whimpered, looking up at him, "All my life, I've had to fight for everything I wanted, and even if I got it, it never stayed, no matter how much I loved it or cared for it—

"You don't need to fight anymore," he said, feathering kisses over her face, "You have me. You _have_ me, _all_ of me. I'm not going anywhere, Joey, and neither are you. Let me fight for you."

"Starscream…"

"Everything is going to be alright."

"Starscream…"

"I'm right here," he said, "I'll always be _right_ _here_."

* * *

Optimus reached across the berth, feeling emptiness where Aurora was supposed to be. He let his optics come online, creating a soft glow of gold as he checked the time. It was just after 10:30. He and Aurora had gone to bed an hour ago, but she wasn't there. He sat up, scanning the room as he did so. "Aurora," he breathed as he observed her pacing across a small span of the floor.

"What's the worst possible thing that could happen?" she asked, hugging herself as she continued her pacing, "The _worst_ _possible thing_."

"Come back to bed, Aurora," Optimus said, "You need to sleep; you have school in the morning."

"What will people say? They're going to ask questions. What do _I_ say?"

He got up and crossed the distance between them until he held her securely in his arms, lips pressed against her neck. "You don't need to say anything," Optimus breathed.

"I don't want to be taken away from you."

"Then hold onto me and don't let me go."

She looked to him, the worry in her eyes dissipating slightly. He pressed his helm against her forehead as he held her tighter. "I love you," she breathed, tears escaping from the corners of her eyes, "I love you, I love you, I _love_ you."

He kissed her tears, the corners of her eyes. He kissed her lips, murmuring how much he loved her after each gentle caress. "Don't worry, love," he breathed, "Don't worry, don't cry, just hang on."

"Optimus…"

"Come back to bed with me. I'll watch you through your dreams; I'll wake you before fear takes you."

She leaned against him and he lifted her in his arms before carrying her back over to the berth. He felt as she snuggled against him and he waited until she had fallen asleep before he allowed his optics to go offline.

* * *

"Megatron, are you awake?"

The Decepticon leader allowed his optics to come online at the sound of Angelique's voice. Her back was to him. "Aurora said they might take you away," she said before he could acknowledge that he was awake.

He vented a sigh, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her against him. "I don't want things to change," she continued, "I'll hide and I'll lie, but I don't want to fight if I have to risk losing you."

"Angelique…"

"Megatron, I am _afraid_," she admitted, voice breaking. He rolled her so that she was facing him and he beheld her tearstained face. "I'm not like you," she went on, "I'm not strong or brave or without fear. I can't be without you."

"You don't need to worry, Angelique," Megatron said, trying to reassure her.

"But if you tell—

"If we tell," he said before he gave her a light kiss, "Things will change, that's for certain. But nothing will change between us. You will remain by my side, no one will be taking me away and no one will be taking you."

"But you don't know that."

"Yes I do."

"How?"

"I won't _let_ them."

She didn't say anything and Megatron kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep," he whispered, "There's nothing to be afraid of, I promise."

"Can I just hold onto you until all of this is over?"

The Decepticon leader gave a soft smile before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "You can hold onto me," he said, "And you don't ever have to let go."

* * *

The directions were more than crystal clear and both Aurora and Angelique felt like throwing up as they approached the living room. It was still another half-hour before they had to leave for school. However, as they had been waiting for the time to go by so that their parents could give them a ride to school, there had been a knock on the front door.

"Hey kiddos," their father said, "There's a reporter here, want me to shoo him away?"

"No," Aurora stated, her face suddenly pale, "Let him in."

"_We've reached a unanimous decision," Optimus said as he addressed Aurora, Angelique, and Joey, Starscream and Megatron by his side. "Should a reporter happen to show up at your residence, you will let him in and we will speak to him. It's time we got this whole thing cleared up."_

"_Are you sure, Optimus?" Aurora asked._

"_We can't hide forever," Megatron answered, "This would have to happen at some point. It's best we get it over with now, rather than later."_

The front door opened with a groan. "Hello, my name is Lawrence Cutler, I am a reporter for WCBS, are Aurora and Angelique home? I was hoping I could ask them a few questions before they left for school," a man said.

"Yeah," their father replied, "Right this way."

Aurora and Angelique looked up from where they were seated in the living room as Lawrence Cutler walked in. Both girls exchanged nervous glances as Cutler began to repeat his introduction, but Angelique cut him off as she said, "I know, we heard. You may have questions, but not for us."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You want to find out?" Aurora asked, knowing this was the point of no return.

He nodded.

Angelique sighed heavily as she stood up, "Its best you come with us."

* * *

I'll try to update soon.


	38. Press Conference

I apologize profusely. My screenwriting class is killing my story writing skills. On top of that, I'm exhausted and have a whole bunch of tests coming up. I also have a couple papers due. Tis the college season.

* * *

**Chapter 38: Press Conference**

By noon, Aurora and Angelique knew that things would never be the same.

It was at noon that the story broke that the transformers indeed existed, and it was Lawrence Cutler's report that was making headlines across the tri-county area. Teachers and students that managed to see the headline immediately wanted to question Aurora and Angelique about the transformers and just where they were.

When they were finally released from school, Aurora and Angelique immediately went home in an effort to escape all the questions, but when they got home, their house was crowded with reporters from other news agencies wanting to get the scoop.

Before they had a chance to make a break towards the base, they were swarmed by reporters with microphones and cameras. "Is it true that you two are no longer human?" one of the reporters asked.

"Uh…" Aurora remarked.

"Did Daniel McHugh kidnap you?"

"Yes!" Angelique immediately shouted.

"Look," Aurora said as she grabbed her sister by the arm and headed towards the house, "We're not answering any questions right now." And with that, she went into the house with her sister.

However, before she could close the door, another reporter wanted to know, "Is it true that you're in a romantic relationship with Optimus?"

Aurora turned to the reporter, dumbfounded. "Who told you that I was?"

Angelique proceeded to close the door and lock it before the reporter could answer. "Perhaps we should find out just what the transformers told that Cutler guy and how much of what they said aired," she said.

"I doubt it was Optimus that said _anything_ about us," Aurora stated as they headed into the basement.

"They're probably interviewing Daniel McHugh like crazy now, too. I wouldn't be surprised if he told them."

"Think he knows?"

"He spied on us for so long, who knows what he knows."

As they walked into the base, Angelique immediately pulled up a local news website on her phone. She immediately found the video report that Cutler had compiled and WCBS broadcasted. She pressed play and turned up the volume all the way on her phone so that Aurora could hear the report as well.

"Good afternoon everyone, I am Olivia Kirkland. Earlier we broadcasted a segment of Daniel McHugh's video evidence about the transformers existing. Today, we are able to confirm that the video evidence he sent us is genuine. Lawrence Cutler has more on the story. Lawrence?"

"Thank you, Olivia," Cutler replied as the camera switched to him, "Earlier this morning, I was granted special permission by Aurora and Angelique Carlson to meet the transformers personally. They requested that, for now, the location of their base was not revealed."

The broadcast then began to play the interview that Cutler had taped between him and the transformers. Standing side by side were Optimus and Megatron as Cutler asked, "How long have you been here?"

"Since the beginning of the summer," Optimus answered, "We've been hiding in plain sight in order to avoid confrontation with the humans. We mean no harm, whatsoever."

"Aren't you at war?"

"In order to survive on this planet, we have set aside our differences," Megatron responded.

"But your characterizations in the cartoon correspond correctly with your real personas?" Cutler asked, "Meaning, you, Optimus, are peaceful and gentle, while, Megatron, you are evil and dangerous."

Megatron noticeably scowled but Optimus was quick to answer the question, "It is not fair to judge our personalities by how they are portrayed in a kids show."

"Whoo! Go Optimus!" Aurora exclaimed.

"Megatron, do you have any comment on the video Daniel McHugh sent us in which you and Starscream are beating Kyle Taylor?"

"Kyle intruded our base armed with a taser and a gun. At that point in time, he was working for Daniel McHugh, who has been invading our privacy by videotaping us. He shot and tasered Optimus and held Angelique hostage at gunpoint before we were finally able to subdue him. I feel my treatment of him was necessary in order to keep Aurora and Angelique safe."

"How many of you are there?"

"There are 17 of us here, including a robotic canine," Optimus answered, "One of us, Elita, did leave."

"Elita?" Cutler remarked, "Isn't that your girlfriend?"

"A very long time ago, she was. We have gone our separate ways."

"I bet every Optimus fangirl in the tri-county area squealed over that," Angelique stated.

"So you have no current love interest?" Cutler asked.

"Who cares?" Angelique scoffed.

"I wish to keep that information private," Optimus answered.

The camera suddenly switched back to Lawrence Cutler who said, "During the interview, I never once felt threatened by either transformer. However, knowing that these alien beings do exist now, our world is certainly about to change. Olivia, back to you."

"Thanks, Larry," Olivia remarked, "We will have more information later tonight. To view the full interview, please visit our website."

The video ended and Angelique put her phone away. "Well, things don't seem that bad, do they?" she asked.

"For now, but we still have to see what happens. Obviously there are still questions that need to be answered. It seems that Lawrence Cutler is just a rookie reporter since he's not asking the best questions," Aurora responded, "Maybe we should hold a press conference."

"But how much do we want to tell?"

"Probably everything," Aurora answered, "If we don't, the truth is going to come out sooner or later. And it's best we move quickly so that we have the upper hand on Dan McHugh."

"So, even how we're gynoids? How you wished the transformers to life? How we're in relationships with Optimus and Megatron? You want all of this to go public?"

Aurora sighed heavily, "If I had a choice, the answer would be no. But at this point, our only option is to tell the truth. Eventually, I'm hoping this will all blow over. But it's going to take a while. We're going to go from small town nothings to celebrities over night. We have to keep it together."

"It's going to be a wild ride," Angelique remarked.

"We've got to stick together. Sisters to the end," Aurora stated.

"Sisters to the end," Angelique repeated as they arrived at the hangout.

They walked inside to see Optimus, Megatron, Starscream, and Joey standing there, conferencing about their next actions. They all looked over as Aurora and Angelique walked in.

"You guys look a little worse for the wear," Joey observed.

"You should see all the reporters outside the house," Aurora replied.

"I take it they have even more questions now," Optimus said.

"You bet."

"What are we supposed to do?" Starscream asked, "Let them in one at a time to answer their questions? That will get exhausting."

Angelique shook her head, "We could have a press conference. That's where we all sit down in a room filled with reporters and explain ourselves. At the end, reporters can ask questions."

Optimus and Megatron exchanged glances before Aurora reiterated, "If we're going to do it, we should do it soon, and we should tell them everything. We need to move faster than Daniel McHugh if we want to win."

"Where would we do it?" Megatron asked, "Letting reporters in here would not end well."

"We could see if we could do it at the school," Angelique replied, "They have an auditorium. I'm sure they'd let us. The superintendent is nice enough."

"Well, Optimus?" Megatron asked as he looked to the Autobot leader, "Shall we do this?"

He nodded, "We have nothing to lose."

And with that, it was decided. Since the school was still open, Aurora and Angelique made the necessary phone calls in order to set up the press conference in the school auditorium. Once they had permission to use it, they released a statement to the media informing them that they would be holding a press conference the next day at 3:30 in the afternoon, after Aurora and Angelique finished school for the day. They reassured the reporters that they would be discussing everything.

* * *

Later that evening, Joey was happy to be alone with Starscream in his room. They sat on the couch, the TV on but the volume low as they talked to one another. "I'm not sure how I feel about becoming famous," Joey said.

"You'll make a great celebrity."

She laughed, "My life certainly is dramatic enough. I'm just worried about the army of fangirls I know you have. I mean, every transformer fan I know of harbors some kind of sentiment for you, Autobot and Decepticon alike. You're probably one of the most popular characters in the history of transformers—

"Joey, I don't want anyone else."

"How do you know? I mean, out of all the humans, you've only been with me. Well, you might've been with that one human girl, Alexis…"

Starscream shot a confused look at her, "What are you talking about?"

"You need to watch Transformers Armada at some point…"

"Joey, you're mine. I'm not sure how to make it any clearer to you."

"But are you mine?"

"I would hope I am considering everything we've been through."

Joey leaned against him and Starscream wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer. "Believe me, Joey. I know you've been hurt in the past, but the past is over. Remember what I said last night?"

She sighed, "I have all of you."

"And right now, you're all mine for the taking," he said as he pinned her down to the couch.

"Starscream!" she remarked with a chuckle as he kissed her.

"Don't most human celebrities have a sex tape?" he asked.

"We are _not_ making one."

"It was only a suggestion," he remarked as he leaned down and kissed her again.

* * *

Optimus was more than grateful to finally have a moment alone with Aurora. Greedily, he wrapped his arm tightly around her waist as he walked with her back to his room. "How are you holding up?" he asked.

"For now, pretty well," Aurora answered.

"The reporters haven't bothered you too badly?"

"One of them asked me if you and I were in a romantic relationship. I didn't answer the question, but guaranteed that'll be asked tomorrow."

"Perhaps it's best that they know."

"They'll never leave us alone, Optimus."

"Eventually, they will."

"And if they don't?"

"We'll disappear," he said, giving her a reassuring kiss on the cheek.

"I just hope this goes alright."

"Everything is going to be okay," he said, "I promise."

She wrapped her arm around his back as she replied, "I'll hold you to that."

"I love you, Aurora."

"I love you, too, Optimus."

* * *

"Angelique, we need to talk," Megatron said as he watched the door to his room close.

"You bet we do," she replied as she began digging through a closet full of her clothes, "I need you to help me pick out something to wear tomorrow."

"Listen to me, this is very important—

She turned to him holding up a skirt in one hand and a casual dress in the other, "Should I go for sexy or classy?"

Megatron frowned as he removed the clothing from her hands and turned her so that she was facing him. "I need you to lie."

"Lie?" she remarked, looking up at him.

"Obviously at some point tomorrow, someone is going to say something about how you, Aurora, and Joey are gynoids. They will want to know how you became gynoids, and explaining how Aurora and Joey became gynoids will be much easier than explaining how you became one."

"Why? I mean, the programming reacted with our DNA when our bodies endured a significant amount of stress."

"Yes…but people will want to know what caused that stress. For Aurora, it was Daniel McHugh shooting her. For Joey, it was James shooting her. And for you, it was because I nearly killed you. They'll want to know why I gave you Decepticon programming when there was no need to."

"But everyone else will know it's a lie…"

"They will understand."

"Megatron…it's easier to just tell the truth."

He growled, "Do you _want_ to lose me, Angelique?"

"Megatron…"

"You will tell them you took the programming willingly. You will tell them you had an accident in the training room. We were in the training room, you didn't realize what one of the weapons did and when you picked it up, you accidentally fired upon yourself. And, as your last request, you asked me to mark you as a Decepticon."

"Nobody is going to buy that."

"They will overlook it. Everyone will be so obsessed over the fact we're alive that they won't be able to tell we're lying."

"And what if someone calls us out on our lie?"

"I will inform Optimus beforehand."

"And if I don't lie?"

"You will lose me."

* * *

"Optimus, I would like to have a word with you."

Optimus turned away from Jetfire, who was giving him a report, to meet Megatron's gaze. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, not yet at least. Will you humor me?"

"Jetfire, I'll be right back."

"Yes sir."

Optimus followed Megatron out of the Autobot command center and into the hallway. When they were out of earshot, the Autobot leader crossed his arms before asking, "What is going on?"

"I wish to discuss this press conference that we are to attend in a couple hours."

"What about it?"

"I feel at some point we will have to reveal that Aurora, Angelique, and Joey are no longer human—

"Yes, keeping that a secret will be impossible. We will have to explain how they became gynoids."

"I have asked Angelique to lie about how she became a gynoid."

"Lie?" Optimus repeated.

"I am quite certain you remember the circumstances that caused her to become a gynoid."

"Yes, you nearly killed her."

"I feel if that information becomes public, it could be disastrous," Megatron explained, "I am telling you this because I don't want anyone to call us out on a lie."

"Megatron, if you lie about it, guaranteed you'll have to face your past again another day. We all know you've changed. I strongly recommend you tell the truth rather than take the cowards way out."

Megatron scowled, "And risk losing Angelique?"

"Emphasize the good you've done. People need to see you've changed."

"Optimus…"

"I will not call you out, if you do decide to lie. But, I can't say you'll never have to face this again. People will always ask questions. We will be scrutinized. It is your decision." And with that, Optimus turned and went back towards the command center. Megatron was left alone to decide.

* * *

Both Aurora and Angelique waited nervously for Optimus, Megatron, Starscream, and Joey to arrive at the school. A crowd of reporters had already gathered inside of the auditorium by the time the others arrived. Before microphones could be shoved down their throats, Aurora and Angelique ushered them inside.

"So, this is what your school looks like?" Joey remarked as they waited outside the auditorium, "Looks kind of like a prison."

"Kind of feels like one," Angelique responded.

"Come on, we should go in," Optimus stated, "I think we'll all feel better once we get this over with."

And with that, they went aside. They sat down at a large table that had six microphones so that they could be heard. Optimus sat down first, Aurora beside him, Angelique beside her, then Megatron, Starscream, and finally Joey. Besides reporters crowding the seats, other people from the town were there including classmates of Aurora and Angelique, their parents, teachers, and their friends.

A sudden hush filled the auditorium as everyone beheld the transformers. Angelique leaned over and whispered to Aurora, "They act like they've never seen a transformer before."

Aurora shot her a glare, "I wonder why."

"Someone needs to talk."

"Go for it," Aurora said, "You're better at running your mouth than I am."

The younger sibling looked to the microphone before saying, "Uh, hello everyone, thanks for coming. Um, if you haven't heard, I'm Angelique—

Her friends in the audience suddenly cheered before yelling, "We love you, Angelique!"

"Thanks guys," she replied before introducing everyone else. After the introductions were done, she and Aurora proceeded to explain their story. They explained how they met the transformers, how they were victimized and harassed by Daniel McHugh, how Joey came to be with them, how they introduced them to their parents, how Daniel McHugh and the rest of the gang members continue to harass them, and finally their decision to go public. It was then they agreed to answer any questions the reporters had.

"If Daniel McHugh has attacked you so many times, in the nature in which you described, how were you able to survive?" one reporter asked.

"Aurora, Angelique, and Joey are no longer human," Optimus replied, deciding to drop a bombshell, "In order to save their lives, we had no choice but to turn them into gynoids. This allows them to maintain their human features but they function very similarly to us transformers now."

"What are the implications of this?" asked another reporter.

"Being a gynoid means they don't need food or water, rather energon in order to survive. They do not age and will not get old. Their lives are essentially the same. They can engage in romantic relationships, but not with humans," Optimus explained.

"But they can with you machines?"

Optimus winced, "Yes—

"So, since you and Elita are no more, does that mean you're with one of these girls?"

Angelique and Aurora exchanged glances. "Here we go," Aurora whispered.

"Hey, at least you're not with Megatron," Angelique replied quietly.

"True."

Optimus hesitated before replying, "I am. However, Aurora and I do not wish to discuss our personal lives at this time."

This time, it was Aurora's friends that cheered. "Bring him to prom!" one of them said.

Aurora noticeably blushed, but she was relieved by her friends' reactions.

"Megatron, is it true that you've set aside your differences with Optimus?"

"Well, we are currently in the same room and we're not trying to kill each other," Megatron replied, "We're certainly not having a bromance, but we get along for the most part."

"And you get along with the humans?"

"Yes, your species is tolerable."

"What about your relationship with Starscream?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well…aren't you two together?"

Angelique, Aurora, Optimus, and Joey immediately burst out laughing.

"What?" Megatron bellowed, "No!"

"Do we really come off as gay to you?" Starscream asked, "We get along when we have to, but that's it. Besides, we both already have our partners."

"Who?" someone immediately asked.

"I am with Joey," Starscream replied.

All eyes fell on Megatron as he and Angelique exchanged glances. "Angelique is mine," he said.

"How did you know how to turn the girls into gynoids in order to save them?"

"Um, it was an accident," Angelique answered, "I was—

"I gave her Decepticon programming in order to mark her as mine," Megatron said, cutting her off, "For a while after Optimus and I formed the alliance, I bitterly missed the war. I needed something to occupy my time, so I decided to take Angelique under my wing and make her a Decepticon soldier. At that time, I cared little for her safety or wellbeing. The stress of the training I inflicted upon her nearly killed her. However, the programming was triggered by the stress and reacted with her DNA, turning her into a gynoid. It was both Autobot and Decepticon programming that saved Aurora and Joey's lives as well."

For another half hour, they answered questions. Finally, they grew weary and told the reporters they were finished answering questions at this time. They proceeded to get up and leave, meeting outside of the auditorium.

"I can't believe you told the truth," Angelique said as she slipped her hand into Megatron's, "I was ready to lie for you."

"Optimus allowed me to have a change of heart," Megatron replied.

"And I'm glad you did," Optimus said, turning to him, "It went relatively well, don't you think?"

"_I _don't think so."

Everyone turned and standing there were Aurora and Angelique's parents. "Dad…" Angelique stated.

Her father immediately tugged her to his side before fixing a glare at Megatron. "You led her mother and I to believe it was an accident that resulted in her turning into a gynoid. If I had known, oh if I had _known_ that you had beaten my daughter to the point of nearly killing her I would have _never_ given you permission to date her in the first place!"

"Dad, you can't do this!" Angelique pleaded as she tried to break out of her father's grasp.

"I am your _father_, Angelique. I will give up my life to keep you safe. I will not allow you to be in a relationship with someone that almost killed you. That's a little sick, don't you think? Come on, we're going home."

Megatron grit his teeth together as Angelique was led out of the building by her parents. He scowled as he looked to Optimus. "I'll be _damned_ if I follow your advice ever again!" he seethed before he stormed out of the building. He transformed into his vehicle form before heading back to the base.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!


	39. Doctor's Orders

So, late last night while I was trying to sleep, I got thinking that at some point, this story has to end. But, I don't want it to, it's like my child or something. But I mean, I'm 39 chapters in...I started this story when I was in 10th grade. Now I'm a senior in college. That's like, almost five years. But I mean, the ending is still far away, but I need to start planting the seeds for the ending. So, with that in mind, I decided to stop poking around and get things moving. And you'll see how in this chapter. But thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter, I appreciate it so much!

* * *

**Chapter 39: Doctor's Orders**

Angelique didn't know what to do as she sat down at the table in the kitchen, her mother and father seated across from her, glaring. Even though it was a short ride home from school, it had felt so long. She felt like crying, like exploding, lashing out. She looked up, meeting the angry expressions her parents held.

"Angelique," her father said, deciding to cut right to the chase, "You are to break things off with Megatron immediately."

"No."

"He almost killed you!" he shouted.

"If it weren't for him, I'd be dead anyway," she yelled back, "You weren't even here when everything unfolded this past summer. You were off on vacation, rarely checking up on us. At least he was there."

"Angelique, listen to your father," her mother intervened, "We want what is best for you and certainly one of the Autobots would be a much better choice."

"Yeah, too bad Barricade is the only single transformer in the base," Angelique retorted, "Mom, I dated an Autobot. You want to know what he did? He almost killed Megatron when he found out we kissed once. He put Megatron in coma for three days. If he can do that, imagine what he could've done to me."

"If he's an Autobot, I doubt he would have," her father stated, "Look, I've made up my mind whether you like it or not."

"You can't tell me who I can and can't be with! You told Megatron to get with me in the first place, obviously you saw he changed."

"I had no idea that he had nearly killed you at that point in time," her father quipped.

"I'm _not_ breaking up with him."

"Then I will let him know that he is not to see you anymore."

"You can't do that!"

"Do not use that tone with me."

"Do you even care how I feel about him or how he feels about me?"

"Has he ever told you he loves you?" her dad asked.

Angelique didn't say anything, because the answer was no. She averted her gaze, glaring at the kitchen table instead. Seeing the defeated look that went across his daughter's face, Angelique's father went on to say, "If he has not told you, then it is safe for you to leave before he does say anything, though I doubt he ever will."

"And then what? You expect me to go back down into the base every day and have to look at him?"

"You are not to see him anymore. You are not to speak with him. He was fictional to you once and now he is to be fictional to you again."

"Dad, you can't do this to me. You're punishing me for something you arranged. You're being hypocritical and that's _not_ fair."

Her father burned with rage. "Watch it, Angelique," he warned, "I can make things a lot worse than taking you away from Megatron. And do understand that I am doing this for your safety. If the transformers span the globe, you will find one that is better."

"You certainly can't do worse than the leader of the Decepticons," her mother added.

But Angelique had heard enough. "Do your worst," she said, "Disown me. Punish me. Lock me up. I refuse to call myself your daughter, especially since I am no longer of your flesh and blood. And, if that's not good enough, then I dare you to incite Megatron's wrath." And with that, she got up from the table and headed into the base.

* * *

Megatron wasn't even sure what to do once he got back to the base and locked himself inside his quarters. He tried to gather his thoughts, but his anger was nearly exploding out of him. He paced the room in effort to keep from lashing out and throwing things. More than anything, he wished that he had lied. His favor with Angelique's parents was completely gone and it would be nearly impossible to earn their trust again.

He thought about killing them. He thought about kidnapping Angelique. Megatron knew with every fiber of his being that her parents would try to end their relationship. They would try to keep Angelique from seeing him, from communicating with him, and he would not have it. He was denied the war, his denied total command over all transformers, but he would not be denied of Angelique. She was given to him to have, and since he could have nothing else, he would bring war if anyone tried to take her away.

His pacing eased; the thought of potential warfare comforted him as he sat down on the edge of his berth. Glancing over, he noticed one of Angelique's shirts tossed loosely onto the end of the berth. As if it were a reflex, he reached over and picked up the garment. He noticed how soft it was beneath his fingertips before he lifted it to his face and inhaled, Angelique's scent overwhelmed his olfactory sensors. In that moment, he wished she was there more than anything.

Megatron set the garment aside and got up from the berth. He knew he had to find Angelique and talk to her. From there, he would decide what to do.

* * *

Angelique was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice when Optimus and Aurora came into the hangout. She was too busy trying to figure out what to say to Megatron.

"Angelique!" her sister called, startling her.

The younger sibling looked over and saw Optimus and her sister. A look of utmost contempt went across her face before she said, "Don't talk to me."

Aurora halted her advance, as did Optimus. However, Aurora ignored her sister as she asked, "What happened?"

"You saw," Angelique quipped.

"Look," Aurora remarked, "Give mom and dad some time, things will blow over. Besides, you can't blame them, Megatron did almost kill you. You would be the same way if you were in mom and dad's position."

"Don't you _dare_ side with them! You don't know what they said."

"Whatever they said, they weren't trying to punish you—

"Then tell me why I'm not allowed to see Megatron anymore or ever again. Tell me why I'm not allowed to talk to him. Tell me why I'm only allowed to be with Autobots from now on," Angelique said as tears burned in her eyes.

"It wasn't what you did," Optimus said as gently as he possibly could, "It was what Megatron did."

"But at the same time, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be alive. Aurora wouldn't be and neither would Joey because we wouldn't have known Autobot and Decepticon programming affected humans in such a way."

"Mom and dad will have to realize that on their own," Aurora remarked, "Until then, you're best doing what they say, you and Megatron both, until he can regain their favor."

"That's easy for you to say. When have you ever had anything taken away from you?"

This time Aurora became angry as she said, "Don't forget what happened when Elita came here."

"At least I was on your side!" Angelique remarked as she got up from the couch, "I told you not to talk to me."

"I'm trying to help you," Aurora stated.

"Get out of my way," Angelique said as she headed for the exit.

"Angelique, it would be best if you calmed down," Optimus spoke.

"Shut up!" she yelled, "This is just as much your fault as it is Megatron's. For once, knock off your self-righteous acts. You're no hero anymore. You're just as misguided as the rest of us here. Now get out of my way!"

But neither of them moved. Angelique growled before drawing back her fist and slamming it into Aurora's eye, causing her to stumble back before falling to the ground unconscious. When Angelique saw what she had done, she stopped, frozen, and could only watch as Optimus went to Aurora's aid. When he couldn't revive her, he lifted her in his arms before looking to Angelique, a glare fixed in his optics. "We were only trying to help," he said before he left.

Angelique looked at her hand, which throbbed from hitting Aurora so hard. She felt paralyzed as she let her shaking hand drop back down to her side, tears falling from her eyes. She had destroyed relations between her and her parents, she had knocked her sister out cold, and she was on the verge of losing Megatron. It was all she could do to keep from collapsing to the floor.

"Damn it," she breathed as she tried in vain to wipe the tears away, "Damn it all." And with that, she left the hangout.

* * *

Aurora had the worst headache when she finally came to. She blinked several times as her eyes tried to focus and adjust to the white light above her, but only one of her eyes was responding properly. One of her eyes felt heavier and she couldn't get it to open. When her vision cleared, she saw Optimus seated beside her, a concerned look in his optics. "What happened?" she asked as she sat up. It was then she noticed Red Alert.

"Nothing serious, fortunately," the medic replied, "But your sister seems to pack quite the punch. She gave you a nice looking black eye." And he handed her a mirror.

"Oh man," Aurora said as she looked at her reflection. Her left eye was swollen shut and purple.

"Since your metallic flesh is extremely similar to skin, I would recommend putting ice on it until the swelling goes down," Red Alert advised.

"Just wait until I get my hands on her," Aurora remarked.

Optimus just shook his head, "I will handle that."

"You're going to give her a black eye, too?"

"No, but I will have a word with her. If you would like her to be punished, I would recommend consulting with your parents about that."

"I think my parents have put her through enough for one day."

It was then the doors to the med bay opened and closed. Both Aurora and Optimus looked over to see Megatron standing there, a very displeased look on his face. After observing the look on the Decepticon leader's face, Aurora leaned over to Optimus and whispered, "I don't think we took Megatron's wrath into consideration. If my parents try to take Angelique away, there's no telling what he'll do."

Optimus then looked to Megatron before saying, "Megatron, what brings you here?"

"Though you're the last person I wish to see at the moment, I was hoping that you might know where Angelique is," Megatron replied.

"She was in the rec room the last we saw her," Optimus responded, "That was about an hour ago."

"I've searched the base; I haven't been able to find her."

"Well, mom and dad did tell her she's not allowed to see you anymore," Aurora stated.

Megatron scowled before asking, "What happened to your eye?"

"Angelique wasn't exactly happy to see me," Aurora replied.

"Why?"

"I told her to do what my parents said until you can regain their favor," she explained, "If you have any intention of going against them, you'll never get their favor back. It'll show them you've changed if you listen to them."

"And an apology to them might help as well," Optimus added.

"Clearly both of you have forgotten what happened the last time I followed your advice."

"Why is every single argument inside the med bay?" Red Alert exclaimed, exasperated, "All of you, take this outside!"

And, seeing they didn't have any other options, Optimus, Aurora, and Megatron left the med bay, but stayed in the waiting area to continue their discussion.

* * *

Angelique sat outside, disregarding the fact it was below freezing and she didn't have anything to keep her warm. She counted the stars as they came out, hugging herself as the cold cut against her like a razor blade. She tried to think about what to do, about what to say to her parents, to Megatron, to Aurora. She noticed the colder it became, the number she got. She shivered violently, but refused to go back inside. She was too cold to jump in surprise when she suddenly heard jet engines behind her before something transformed and landed.

"Hey! What are you doing out here?" a female voice called.

Angelique barely had the energy to look over her shoulder to see Joey and Starscream approaching her. She didn't say anything as she instead turned her gaze back to the ground before her. She listened as Joey and Starscream sat down either side of her. "Look at you!" Joey exclaimed before taking her coat off and draping it over Angelique's shoulders.

"What are you…d-doing?" Angelique asked through chattering teeth.

"What am _I_ doing? Starscream was taking me on a joy-flight. I think the question is what you doing out here without a coat on? Are you crazy?"

Angelique gave a weak laugh, "I c-came out here b-because I th-thought the c-cold would fr-freeze my tears so I c-couldn't c-cry anymore."

"Parent issues?"

She nodded.

"You know, you're lucky to have parents that care about you, even if you don't like what they say. I wish I had listened to mine more, but it's whatever now. But, let me guess, they want you to break up with Megs?"

She nodded again.

Starscream gave a light chuckle, "You don't break up with Megatron, not unless you have a death wish."

"You speaking from personal experience there, Screamer?" Joey asked.

He shot her a glare before saying, "Watch it."

Joey just smiled before she turned her attention back to Angelique, "What your parents don't know won't kill them. They never come into the base. You can keep your relationship with Megatron without them knowing. You'll just have to keep it under the wraps until Megatron can regain their favor."

"I d-don't want to hide our r-relationship."

"Then prove to your parents how crazy you guys are about each other. I mean, even if you can never get their approval, they're going to get old and die anyway."

Angelique shot her a glare.

"I'm just saying."

The girl sighed, still shivering. Joey wrapped an arm around her before pulling her close in an effort to get her warm. "What do you say we get you back in the base? You're going to get hypothermia if you stay out here much longer."

"I p-punched my sister. I knocked her out."

"Nice one!" Joey exclaimed, "What'd you go and do that for?"

"She made me mad. I didn't want t-to…it just happened."

"Look, you can't let your anger get the best of you. If you—Angelique?"

Angelique had closed her eyes, she had slumped forward slightly. "I'm c-cold," she mumbled.

"Help me get her back into the base," Joey remarked as she looked to Starscream. The Decepticon second in command proceeded to lift Angelique in his arms before following Joey into the base.

"I'm tired," Angelique mumbled.

"Well, don't fall asleep," Joey replied, "We're taking you to the med bay. Or a sauna, whichever is warmer."

"There is the hot tub in the rec room," Starscream suggested, "I'd recommend it, she's nearly frozen."

"I'm fine."

"That's what we're going to find out," Joey said.

* * *

"Megatron, we're not trying to tell you what to do, we're only recommending that you don't permanently destroy whatever chances you may have at regaining the favor of Angelique's parents," Optimus said.

"I don't wish to discuss this," Megatron seethed, clearly angry, "I only want your help finding her so that I may speak with her."

"She's probably up at the house," Aurora said, "I'll call her."

"No need for that."

Everyone looked to see Joey come in the waiting area. Starscream came in behind her, carrying Angelique in his arms. Alarm flashed through Megatron's optics as he asked, "What happened?"

"She's a little down in the dumps," Joey replied, "She thought it would be wise to go outside without a coat on."

Megatron took Angelique from Starscream and immediately felt how cold she was and how much she was shivering. He didn't say anything as he turned and went inside the med bay. Joey watched after him for a moment before looking to Aurora and saying, "Nice eye."

"Yeah, it feels pretty nice," Aurora replied sarcastically.

"If it makes you feel better, I talked to Angelique. Try not to be so hard on her. She's already taking this out on herself."

Aurora sighed, "I think its best we let Megatron and Angelique figure this out on their own. Whatever happens from this point happens."

"Things will blow over," Joey said.

"I sure hope so."

* * *

"She'll be alright," Red Alert said as he examined Angelique, "She's just got a mild case of hypothermia. Warm her gradually; too much heat at once will be painful to her."

"What's the best way to warm her?"

"I'd start with blankets and heaters, then as she gets more strength, probably physical activity," Red Alert said and then he glanced between the two before he leaned in and whispered to the Decepticon leader, "Like sexual intercourse. But I don't know where you and Angelique are in your relationship."

Megatron's optics widened. Though he was reluctant to take any Autobots advice, this advice he didn't exactly want to ignore. However, he wasn't sure if now was the best time to initiate a sexual relationship with Angelique considering how things were between him and her parents.

"What did you say?" Angelique asked as she observed Megatron's reaction.

"Oh, nothing," Red Alert replied, "You're all set to go."

"Good," Megatron mused as he looked to Angelique, "You and I need to talk."

A worried look spread across her face as she followed Megatron out of the med bay. However, she stopped when she saw the others outside, talking. She ignored their conversation though as her eyes instead fell on her sister. Aurora met her gaze with the one good eye she had and Angelique sighed before saying, "Sorry about your eye. You can deck me one if you want."

"Trust me, I want to," Aurora replied, "But I won't because I think it would hurt me more than it would you."

Angelique blinked back a few tears before saying, "Thanks."

"Oh, come here," Aurora stated.

And Angelique stepped forward, allowing her sister to swallow her in a hug as she cried. "Will you talk to mom and dad?" Angelique asked through tears, "You're their favorite. They'll listen to you."

"You're dad's little girl, he'll be difficult to reason with, but yes, I'll see what I can do."

"Just wait until your eye is better."

Aurora gave a light laugh, "Why, so they don't punish you for that?"

"You know me."

"Things are going to be okay, I promise. Now go get warmed up, you're still shivering."

Angelique nodded before going back to Megatron's side. He wrapped an arm around her before leading her away.

Joey watched them go before looking back to Aurora, "You really think things are going to be okay?"

"Maybe not immediately," Aurora said, "But hopefully soon."

* * *

Angelique didn't want to admit that she was worried sick as she followed Megatron inside his quarters, the door closing on its own behind her. However, rather than immediately talking, he pulled a blanket off the bed before wrapping her in it. He then took her in his arms before he carried her over to one of the heating vents and sat next to it with her. He turned it on before pulling her onto his lap and holding her tightly.

He pressed his lips against the exposed flesh on her neck before he said, "You are still very foolish."

"You're just as much of a fool for caring about me."

He smiled, but his smile didn't last long. "What did your parents say?" he asked.

"I'm not allowed to see you anymore. I'm supposed to break things off with you and never speak to you again."

"And the punishment if you don't?"

"My father only threatened to make things a lot worse if I didn't," she explained, "I told them to disown me. I told them that I won't call myself their daughter anymore since I'm no longer of their flesh and blood."

"You are more my creation now than you are theirs."

"I dared them to make you mad."

He gave a light chuckle as he let his optics go offline, "You do have some wits about you, I see."

"My dad wanted to know if you ever said you loved me."

Megatron's optics flared. "Does he think words are proof? Words are merely words!" he exclaimed angrily.

"Then what's going to happen?"

"You're not going anywhere. I will end both of our lives before you can leave."

"I don't think murder-suicide is the _best_ option."

"I could kill your parents."

"A double homicide wouldn't be good either."

"I refuse to do as they wish, even if it destroys me relations with them forever. They are human, they will die one day. Your father gave me permission to have you and since I can have nothing else, have you I will."

"So, we'll ignore them?"

"Their word is not strong enough to break our bond. I will speak with your parents, though I doubt anything will come of that."

"You convinced my father once; maybe you can do it again."

Megatron didn't say anything; instead he ran his fingers through the soft locks of her hair. After a while, Angelique's shivering subsided and she began to relax. "What did Red Alert whisper to you in the med bay?" she asked.

"He recommended sexual intercourse for a physical activity. Since he is a doctor, his advice should be considered at least."

"Then I'll consider it."

Megatron grinned before kissing the top of her head. He then helped her to her feet before removing the blanket from her. Angelique was shocked when songs suddenly began pouring out of his radio before he took her in his arms, kissing her as he led her in a slow dance around his quarters. He played Lost in You by Three Days Grace, My Immortal by Evanescence, and Why by Secondhand Serenade before Angelique finally asked, "Megatron, what's gotten into you?"

He smiled. "I'm trying to be romantic," he replied gently, "I know you like these songs, though they may not be the most passionate."

She blushed, unable to hide her smile. He leaned in slowly, kissing her again as they gently twirled around the room. This was all Angelique had wanted from, something romantic to show he cared. If he knew the music she liked and took the time to listen to it, then it showed he thought of her. She hadn't even registered they had stopped moving or that the music had stopped playing until Megatron gently broke the kiss.

"I promised that you didn't need to be afraid anymore," he said.

"You've proven yourself."

"There is a spark between us, a spark that I wish to ignite into a blazing inferno, should you let me."

"You can have me."

Excitement twinkled through his optics. "Say it again," he said, "Say it again so I can know."

"You can have me."

He guided her over to the berth, kissing her and breathing how beautiful she was as he carefully removed her clothes. He lifted her onto the berth before he positioned himself over her, kissing her deeply as he did so. He felt ripples of ecstasy course through him as Angelique's hands roamed over his most delicate sensors.

He let his hands and lips wander where they had never been. He teased her nipples, eliciting beautiful gasps and moans from her. A hand dipped between her legs and he teased a bundle of sensors just outside her valve. She gasped, writhing beneath him, her fingertips clawing into his back. He chuckled lightly before kissing her. However, he wasn't expecting her hand to suddenly drop down to his panel and gently brush against it, eliciting a moan from him.

"My, eager are we?" he asked.

"It sounded like you liked it," she replied.

Since she had surprised him, Megatron decided to surprise her. He inserted a finger inside of her, his panel heating up at the feeling. He teased her until she was nearly soaking his berth. He removed his hand from between her legs before he retracted his panel, revealing his fully erect spike. He spread her legs farther apart before saying, "This will hurt, but I'm sure you've heard all the horror stories."

She smiled softly, "I have."

"It won't hurt long," he said before leaning down and kissing her.

Angelique felt as he kissed down to her neck. Before she could register what happened, Megatron repositioned his hips before gently yet firmly thrusting them forward, simultaneously biting her neck to distract her from the pain of him breaking her seal.

Tears filled her eyes as his spike filled her, stretching her valve painfully. "Megatron…" she whimpered.

He wiped her tears, feathering kisses over her as he breathed, "I won't go any farther until you're ready. I promise, it won't hurt any worse than this."

"Says you," she replied, "You try taking a blunt object up your aft."

He chuckled, "No thank you."

She sighed as he kissed her. As he kissed her, he felt her muscle cables slowly relax. Gently, he pulled back a bit before slowly thrusting his hips forward again. He repeated the motion a few more times, and when Angelique didn't complain, he began to thrust a little harder and deeper.

"Primus," he breathed as he closed his optics, "You feel amazing."

Angelique felt a slight blush go across her face as she watched him. He held her hips tightly as he continued to thrust, his entire frame radiating with pleasure. She moaned as he suddenly sent a burst of electricity into her, causing the knot that was building in her abdomen to grow. He quickened his pace, but he didn't want to rush this.

He leaned down and kissed her yet again, thrusting as he did so. She clung to him tightly, never wanting to let him go. "I love you," she breathed between kisses.

"And I…the same," he panted.

He felt her valve tighten around him, making it harder to thrust, but the friction felt so good. He knew that she was close. He nipped her neck, listening as her breathing staggered. He grinned as he purred against her neck, "Give into me, my sweet."

"Megatron…"

He kissed her as she succumbed to his pleasure. However, she was unable to kiss back as she surrendered her body to him. He let a groan pass his lips as her valve convulsed around his spike. And, after a few more deep, hard thrusts, his body went rigid as his essence spilled inside of her.

After a few moments, he fell onto the berth beside her. He took her in his arms and held her tightly against him as his systems worked to cool him. "Warm?" he asked, kissing her forehead.

She gave a soft smile, "Very."

He chuckled softly as he let his fingertips glide along the gentle curves of her body. He wanted her again. He wanted her as many times as he could possibly take her. She was his, she was beautiful, and she was _his_.

"Never forget you are mine," he said.

"I won't."

"Forever, Angelique. You are mine _forever_."

She pressed her lips to his in an effort to reassure him. Megatron accepted the kiss as he positioned himself on top of her, letting the kiss linger on longer than it needed to.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Well, I want to say something profound, but whatever I had left my brain and went back to heaven. So, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review!


	40. Monster in the Mirror

I won't lie guys, this chapter is very kinky and there's a lot of sexual themes. That being said, I hope you guys enjoy it. It's about time I updated this story anyway.

* * *

**Chapter 40: Monster in the Mirror**

The feeling of fingers running through her hair woke Aurora from a sound sleep. Smiling, she glanced over, fully expecting to see Optimus smiling down at her. However, his back was to her, he was sound asleep, and no one else was there. Confused, she sat up, glancing around the dark room. Still not seeing anything, she reached over to stand by the berth and unlocked her phone. 3:00am.

"Aurora…"

She gasped as she heard her name growled across the room. "W-Who's there?" she whispered, her voice shaky.

It laughed quietly.

She immediately squeezed her eyes closed. _"I'm dreaming,"_ she tried to convince herself, _"Wake up, Aurora. Wake up right now."_ She opened her eyes only to see blood red optics directly in front of her face.

"Boo."

She screamed.

Strong arms immediately wrapped around her, pulling her back down on the bed. She struggled against them, trying in vain to free herself. "Aurora…Aurora _stop_, it's me," said a familiar voice.

She immediately relaxed at the sound of Optimus' voice. She reached out, clinging to him. "Optimus…" she breathed.

"What's wrong?"

"Someone else is in here."

Optimus immediately commanded the lights on, but there was no one there. Aurora sat back up, hugging her knees to her chest as Optimus checked the other rooms to make sure they were alone. He came back and pulled her against him before saying, "Aurora, we're the only ones here. You must have been dreaming."

She shook her head, "No, whoever it was, they woke me up."

"I promise you, no one is in here," he said as he commanded the lights back off and lay down, coaxing her down beside him, "You're safe, I promise."

She snuggled up into him before breathing, "Thank you."

The Autobot leader smiled, "Anything for you, Aurora. Go back to sleep."

She closed her eyes as Optimus gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. She listened as he powered down. After a few minutes, sleep managed to find her.

"Aurora…"

Disregarding the voice as her imagination, she fell back to sleep.

* * *

"Mom, dad, can I talk to you about something?"

Both parents looked over as their eldest daughter sat down in the living room. Steve angrily flipped through a newspaper as Emily lowered the volume on the television. "What is it, Aurora?" she asked.

"If this has anything to do with Angelique and Megatron—

"It does."

Steve glared at her, "I'm _not_ changing my mind. Has your sister been hanging out with Megatron?"

"I didn't come up here to rat her out," Aurora said, trying to keep her anger from getting the best of her, "I just want you to understand how she feels."

"What I understand is that she would rather be in a relationship with some psycho killer robot rather than listen to us."

"Megatron never would've confessed his feelings if it hadn't been for you," Aurora quipped, "You're responsible for their relationship—

"And now I wish to be responsible for its end."

"Megatron isn't going to just let her go."

"Dad, chill out! Yes, we all understand that Megatron almost _killed_ Angelique, but what you don't understand is that if it hadn't been for him, Angelique, Joey, and myself would all be dead. No, he wasn't always nice and _yes_ he has _a lot_ to make up for, but I think he's making good progress. He did as you wished by sweeping Angelique off her feet and he did tell you the truth about what happened. He didn't want to but he _did_. Why deny him the one thing he's never been able to have?"

"And just what is _that_?" he asked, angrily.

"Love."

"There are other girls—

"There's only one Angelique."

"Steve," her mother spoke up, "I think you might be letting your anger get the best of you. No one deserves to be denied love. Angelique might be the one person who can actually turn Megatron around."

"Thank you mom," Aurora breathed.

"He almost killed her!" Steve glowered, "Why should I forgive him, why should I give him a second chance?"

"Why shouldn't you?" Emily asked.

Steve proceeded to storm out of the room, his anger having got the best of him. Aurora sighed heavily before looking to her mother and saying, "I didn't mean to get him that mad."

"I know. Where is Angelique, by the way?"

"Down in the base and probably with Megatron."

"I'd like to speak with her."

"I can help you find her."

Her mother nodded and together they headed down into the base.

* * *

"Angelique, do you _know_ how cold outside it is?"

Angelique looked up from her seat on the couch as Joey approached her in a bikini. She chuckled, "It's colder because you're wearing that."

"I'm taking a dip in the hot tub because according to the Weather Channel, it's -4 out, but it feels like -20."

Angelique shrugged, "That's normal for up here this time of year."

"Join me?"

"I'm not exactly wearing the proper attire."

Joey proceeded to thrust a black bikini at her. "Here," she said, "It's sexy and I had it custom made, like mine." She proceeded to turn around. Across the butt it read in red letters: Starscream.

Angelique looked at the one Joey handed her only to see it read Megatron across the butt in purple letters. "Um…" she remarked, "How'd you know my size?"

"I may or may not have raided your underwear and bra drawers. Come on, go put it on. Megatron would love it."

"That's a little creepy and Megatron's not here."

"I invited both him and Starscream. I said you were coming. Besides, I know you and Megatron know how to put the _hot_ in hot tub."

Angelique's cheeks immediately flushed. "Okay, fine…" she remarked as she disappeared into the bathroom. She came out a couple minutes later, bikini on. Joey wolf whistled at her before snapping a picture.

"Wait…where is that going?"

"Facebook, of course. Come on, take a picture of my butt, the world wants to see it."

Angelique rolled her eyes as she took the camera from Joey. "Let me guess," she said as she focused the camera on Joey's butt, "You've had an increase in friend requests too since the transformers went public?"

"You bet."

Angelique snapped the picture. "And they're asking for pictures of your butt?" she asked as she handed the camera back to her.

"Not just pictures of my butt, but for pictures of Starscream and me and you and the other transformers. Aurora doesn't have a Facebook, does she?"

"No. I doubt she ever will."

"Come on, a picture of both of us!"

Angelique rolled her eyes as Joey wrapped her arm around her. She wrapped her arm around Joey's waist as the older girl held up the camera. Both girls smiled as Joey took the picture. "Should we do a sexy one?" Angelique asked.

"Wearing bikinis isn't sexy enough?"

Angelique shrugged, "We could always make it sexier."

"Come here."

Joey pulled Angelique close. Angelique kissed Joey on the cheek. Joey snapped the shot just as Megatron and Starscream walked in only to do a double take. "What's going on?" Megatron asked.

"And why are we not being included in it?" Starscream added.

"You want in?" Joey asked.

"Of course," Starscream replied.

"Here," Joey said as she tossed him the camera, "Take a picture of us."

Starscream laughed as Joey and Angelique proceeded to grab each other's breasts. He took the shot and then Angelique asked, "This isn't going on Facebook, right?"

"I won't tag you in it if you don't want me to," Joey replied as she looked to Starscream and Megatron, "Would you guys strike some sexy poses?"

"The internet already thinks Starscream and I are gay…I don't think so," Megatron said.

"You will probably change your mind after having some high grade," Joey replied as she revealed a large stash of it.

"Angelique Carlson put some clothes on!"

Angelique looked over only to see her mother and sister enter the hangout. A blush of embarrassment went across her face as she crossed her arms over her chest. "M-Mom…" she stuttered, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize and tell you I was on your side," she said, "But I didn't expect to find you dressed like that…"

"Really? You're on my side?" Angelique asked, ignoring her mother's comment about her outfit.

Her mother gave a soft smile, "Yes…Aurora was able to talk some reason. However, your father is still a piece of work."

Angelique crushed her mother in a hug, "Thanks, mom."

Her mother returned the embrace as Megatron came over and thanked her as well. He also proceeded to apologize for not saying anything before. Her mother appreciated it and apologized for her anger as well as their father's. "Just hold out," she said, "Steve will come around."

"Thanks," Megatron said again.

"Oh, one more thing," her mother said, "You two better be using protection."

"What? Mom!" Angelique's cheeks immediately flushed as Joey giggled.

"Angelique, do you really expect me to believe you two are not having sex? Same goes for you and Optimus, Aurora," Emily said.

"No worries mom," Aurora replied, though embarrassed.

"It's not you I'm worried about," their mother said looking back to Angelique, "I know how you're a bit more on the wild side than Aurora is. The last thing you need right now—

"I'm not going to get pregnant," Angelique said quickly, trying to end the conversation as quickly as it had started, "I promise. You can leave now mother dearest."

"She can only get pregnant from a spark bond," Megatron said, amused at Angelique's embarrassment, "Spark bonds are highly personal, more so than…well, what you associate sex to be. They're usually only done if two transformers wish to have a permanent relationship, similar to what you associate as marriage. Angelique and I are not bonded."

"Are you sure?" her mother asked, "She did use to be a human. She's not a transformer."

"I'm positive," Megatron replied, "But, even if it were possible for her to accidentally become pregnant I wouldn't abandon her."

Angelique smiled. Seeming a bit relieved, her mother nodded. After bidding goodbye to Angelique, she left the room with Aurora. Once they were gone Megatron leaned over and said, "I like your butt."

"I figured you would since your name's on it."

He chuckled as Joey said, "Are we getting in the hot tub or what?"

"Alright, Joey," Angelique said turning to her, "Let's put the hot in the hot tub."

"About time," Joey replied as she followed Angelique inside. Both of them sat down before Joey looked over at Megatron and Starscream and asked, "Are you two getting in or will Angelique and I have to entertain each other?"

"That could prove to be interesting," Megatron mused as he stepped over to the tub.

"I would rather be part of the action," Starscream remarked as he got into the tub, disregarding Megatron as he wrapped his arms around both Joey and Angelique and pulled them against him, "If you're not getting in, I'm stealing your show."

"I don't think so," Megatron replied as he got inside the tub as well and pulled Angelique away from Starscream.

"Hey sexy," Angelique remarked as she snuggled up into him.

Megatron grinned down at her just as Joey snapped a picture of them and said, "Facebook is going to love that one."

"Just what is this _Facebook_ anyway?"

"A social media website…it's supposed to let you stay connected to your friends, but a lot of people use it to stalk each other. You and Starscream should get one."

"That just sounds like an invitation for crazy fans and trolls," Megatron replied.

"You can block the crazies," Joey persisted, "You'd get instant celebrity status."

"Then he'd have to get a Twitter," Angelique said.

Megatron looked to her, "Twitter?"

Angelique chuckled as she looked to Joey. "Did you ever hear that one saying, the MySpace one?" she asked.

"Remind me?"

"Come over to MySpace and Twitter my Yahoo till I Google all over your Facebook."

Joey laughed, "No, that's the first time I've heard that one."

"I'd rather Bing her YouTube," Starscream stated causing Angelique and Joey to laugh.

"Seems Starscream is a little more tech savvy than you," Angelique said, looking to Megatron.

"At least when it comes to human technology," the Decepticon leader replied.

"Well, as lovely as this conversation is," Starscream remarked, "I'm ready for a show."

"My bikini is staying on," Angelique said.

"For now," Megatron added.

"Who says we have to strip?" Joey asked as she reached over and grabbed a remote that turned on the music, "Hey Angelique, what do you say you meet me at the hotel room?"

Angelique grinned as she listened to the song Hotel Room Service by Pitbull come on, "Should I forget about my boyfriend and meet you at the hotel room?"

"You can bring your girlfriends and meet me at the hotel room."

"Now that's kinky…" Starscream mused.

"How well can you grind, Angelique?" Joey asked as she stood up.

"I think I'm pretty good at it."

"We should show these boys how it's done then."

"I think we need a better song," Angelique said as she took the remote and switched the songs until Tonight (I'm F**kin' You) by Enrique Iglesias came on.

"Oh, here we go," Joey said as she pulled Angelique to her feet.

_I know you want me, I made it obvious that I want you too  
So put it on me, let's remove the space between me and you_

Joey came up from behind Angelique, thrusting her hips into her backside. Angelique grinned as she rocked her hips, matching Joey's movements as they grinded together.

_Now rock your body, oohh, damn I like the way that you move  
So give it to me, oh, 'cause I already know what you want to do_

"Oh damn," Starscream breathed.

"Angelique if I had known you could move like that…Starscream; you are getting pictures, right?"

"No sir, too busy staring."

_Here's the situation: been to every nation  
Nobody's ever made me feel the way that you do  
You know my motivation given my reputation  
Please excuse me I don't mean to be rude  
But tonight I'm fucking you_

Starscream immediately grabbed the camera and snapped a few shots as Joey said, "Hey Angelique, you're so damn pretty."

Angelique laughed, going along with the song, "If I had a type then baby it would be you."

"Who do you think is more turned on?" Joey asked, "Megatron or Starscream?"

"We could find out…" Angelique said as she turned and faced Joey before giving her a light tease of a kiss on the lips.

"Frag…" Megatron breathed lustfully.

"Looks like Megatron," Joey stated with a smirk as she turned to Starscream, "That means we've got to work on him."

"Lap dance?" Angelique asked before going over to Starscream.

"Frag yes," Starscream replied as Joey straddled herself over one of his legs, Angelique straddling herself over his other.

"Wait a second," Megatron said, "I want some of this."

"You'll get some," Joey replied as she rocked her hips, "Besides; Angelique gave you a naked lap dance when we played Truth or Dare."

"Mmm, what I wouldn't give to see you naked," Starscream mused as he pulled Joey against him and kissed her. Angelique and Megatron both watched as he reached around to unhook the top of her bikini.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Angelique remarked, "Not right now."

"I suggest you look away then," Starscream warned.

"Don't worry," Megatron said as he pulled her off Starscream's leg and onto his lap, "If they want to give us a show, we can give them one."

"Wait…I don't exactly, mmm…" Angelique trailed off as Megatron pressed his lips to hers. She gasped in surprise when he suddenly slipped a hand into her bikini bottom and started fingering her.

"Megatron," she breathed, her cheeks flushing.

"What do you say we go back to my room?" he whispered, arousal heavy in his optics.

She nodded and without any parting words, Megatron opened a dimension gate and whisked her away into it. Starscream saw the gate close out of the corner of his optic and grinned as he looked to Joey and said, "Looks like it's just you and me."

Joey didn't have time to react as Starscream suddenly lifted her off his lap and bent her over the edge of the tub. Joey chuckled as he positioned himself behind her. "Oh," she said, "I see where this is going."

"You should've known where this was going the moment Megatron and I walked in here," he said as he eased her bikini bottom off her.

"I figured it was just all the teasing Angelique and I did," she replied. She groaned as Starscream suddenly entered her, his thick spike filling her to the hilt.

"I'll never get over how good you feel," he breathed as he slowly eased back only to press himself back into her. He grasped her hips firmly as he built a slow rhythm.

"Starscream," Joey breathed, "How about you stop teasing me? I know you're capable of a lot more than this."

He chuckled, "Eager are we?"

She thrust against him, causing Starscream to hiss at the unexpected pleasure. "Alright," he purred, "If you want to play that way…"

Joey gripped the edge of the hot tub tighter as he drove himself faster and deeper into her. "That's…nngh…that's better," she panted.

He kept the rhythm for a while before suddenly thrust harder. "Ah…Starscream," Joey breathed causing the seeker to chuckle.

"Too much?" he asked.

"Just…mmh…right."

Starscream could feel her muscle cables tightening around his spike and knew she was close. He eased his hand up her back before he reached around and cupped her breast, rolling her nipple between his fingertips. Joey could hardly take it. Her body went rigid before she wanted it to, her back arching as she fell prisoner to Starscream's pleasure. As she finished, she heard Starscream grunt before she felt hot, sticky transfluid fill her. Joey opened her eyes as she came down from her euphoric high. She slipped a hand over her mouth as she tried to keep from screaming at what she saw.

At the other end of the hangout was a shadowy figure, blood red optics right on her, watching them, watching her. She watched it smile before it suddenly disappeared out of sight.

"Joey?"

She blinked, trying to decide if what she had just seen was real or not.

"Joey, you alright?"

"I-I'm fine," she said.

* * *

He watched them tumble between the bed sheets, his own panel heating up at the lovemaking occurring on the Decepticon leader's berth. He was already aroused from Starscream and Joey's hot tub romp, but this was just icing on the cake.

"What do you say you kiss me like you kissed Joey?" the Decepticon leader purred as Angelique kissed her way from his mouth to his panel.

"I could kiss you somewhere else," she teased.

The figure watched as Megatron dominated her, as Angelique dominated him. He would've given anything to be in Megatron's place, in Starscream's back in the rec. room. The noises Angelique made were beautiful as she found ecstasy. And Megatron didn't just bring her there once, but he brought her there again before he finally came himself.

He watched as Megatron fell onto the berth beside her, holding her tightly in his arms. He heard each time he smiled as Angelique whispered to him, professing her love, kissing him until he slipped into recharge. He followed Angelique as she carefully got up from the berth and made her way into the cleansing room to clean up. She was still naked as she stepped in front of the mirror and brushed her hair. He closed the door and approached, listening as she started humming.

She set the brush down and he closed the distance between them, encircling his arms around her waist from behind. Horrified, Angelique looked up. Their gaze met in the mirror.

She screamed.

* * *

The end, for now. Please review!


	41. Demon Possessed

The second attempt at this chapter is definitely much better than the first. I have a friend that can vouch for that...well, maybe not because she didn't want me to change the chapter. But I did anyway. So, I hope you guys enjoy this one. Oh, the spring semester starts next Monday, so this may be my last update for a while. But we'll see, I'm starting at a brand new school, so maybe the work load won't be as intense.

* * *

**Chapter 41: Demon Possessed**

"_What_ is going _on_?"

Angelique looked over as Megatron suddenly burst into the cleansing room. Confused, she glanced around only to see the shadowy figure that had snaked his arms around her was suddenly gone, vanished into thin air. "Th-There was…" she shook her head as she tried to calm down.

Megatron sighed as he grabbed a towel before wrapping it around her and pulling her against him. "What, a spider?" he asked with a chuckle.

"No, there was someone. I couldn't see who it was since they—

"Angelique, there's no one here."

"There _was_ someone, I swear," she said as she broke out of his embrace, "He went just like this." And she proceeded to move behind him before encircling her arms around his waist.

Megatron chuckled, "You must have been imagining things."

"But I _saw_ him—

"I am the only one who would ever hold you like this. You must have been thinking about me."

"Don't flatter yourself," she remarked as she let him go, "It wasn't you I saw. His optics were red. Yours are blue."

"They say not to trust a witness' account," Megatron said as he turned and wrapped an arm around her, "Come to berth with me."

"You know, technically a berth is a shelf-like sleeping space, like in a ship or a train. And, as a verb, berth means to allot to or to bring to, but it refers to docking a ship…and synonyms for that are to 'come in' and to 'tie up,'" Angelique explained, causing Megatron to laugh.

"You like words too much," he replied, "But would you like to be tied up so I can come in you?"

Angelique brushed profusely, "No thanks, I'm still shaky from our previous sexcapade."

"Shaky from that or from letting your imagination get the best of you?"

"It wasn't my imagination!" she protested.

Megatron just shook his head as he led her out of the cleansing room and back over to the berth. "Whatever you say, my dear," he stated before pulling the towel off her and tugging her down onto the berth beside him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him before saying with a yawn, "You woke me up, put me back to sleep."

"How?"

"I was thinking like you did earlier."

Angelique smiled before she kissed him gently. "I love you," she breathed as he let his optics go offline.

"Say it again."

"I love you."

He smiled and she kissed him again. She listened as his engine gave a soft purr before he slipped into recharge. She then settled beside him before falling asleep herself.

* * *

_"Last night authorities responded to calls that an underage girl was brutally raped. Because she is underage, we are unable to release her name. At this time, there are no suspects…"_

Aurora listened to the drone of the news report as she tried to get her homework done. She needed the monotonous voices of the news reporters to act as white noise as Joey and Angelique carried on a conversation not far from her. She sighed, she should've known better than to try to get her homework done in the hangout.

"I swear to Primus or God or whatever deity may be out there that I _saw_ something."

Aurora looked up from her homework upon hearing Angelique say that. She glanced over as Joey asked, "Did Megatron see it?"

"Well…no. He didn't believe me. But I felt it too."

Joey smirked, "Where'd you feel it?"

"Knock it off, I'm being completely serious."

"Alright, fine, what did it look like?"

"It looked like a shadow. I couldn't see any features, but its like, covered in this black smoke stuff. All I could see was its optics."

"Were they red?" Aurora asked.

Surprised, both Joey and Angelique looked over at her. "Yes," the younger sibling slowly responded, "Wait a second, did you see it too?"

"I didn't really see it, but I heard and felt something."

"Thank goodness, I'm not going insane."

"Both of you saw something?" Joey asked, her face suddenly paler than what it had been a moment ago, "I thought I was seeing things, but Angelique, what you described sounds exactly like something I saw yesterday right here in the hangout."

Angelique and Aurora glanced around warily before the younger sibling exclaimed, "Oh God the base is possessed by a demon, I'm moving out."

"Hold on," Aurora remarked, "Since all three of us have seen something, maybe now someone will believe us if we all tell them."

"Or they'll think we're crazy," Joey quipped.

"Did you tell Starscream?" Angelique asked.

"Tried to last night, but he said I was seeing things. I wasn't even sure if I had really seen it. It seems to have this ability to just…vanish."

"Alright, before we jump to conclusions about anything, considering this thing has optics, I would have to assume it's a transformer. But I'm not sure what transformer has the ability to just disappear and disguise themselves with vapor," Aurora said.

"Armada Sideways?" Angelique suggested.

"Cybertron Galvatron initially hid himself with black smoke," Joey remarked.

"So it could be anyone," Aurora stated with a sigh.

"Maybe we should wait to tell the others," Joey said, "I mean, at least until we have some solid proof or one of them sees something. For all we know, whatever this thing is, it may not be coming back."

"I sure hope not. I'd like to be able to sleep at night without being freaked out."

"You and me both," Angelique remarked.

"I have an idea," Joey stated as she walked over to Aurora and closed the textbook that was open on her lap, "Why don't we have a little paranormal investigation until we can get some hard evidence that the three of us aren't going out of our minds?"

"What are you proposing?" Aurora asked, "That we set up some video cameras and sound recorders to see if we can catch something?"

"We don't need to set up anything," she said, "Not when this base is already full of surveillance cameras with HD video and audio capability."

Aurora and Angelique exchanged glances as Joey continued, "I know private quarters do not have surveillance cameras in them, but this room does. Perhaps our shadowy friend was caught on camera yesterday."

"It's worth checking out," Aurora said as she set her books aside and stood up.

"Wait, what if the _thing_ is out there?" Angelique asked.

"We'll just scream loudly," she replied, "Are you coming with us, Angelique, or would you rather stay here by yourself where the _thing_ could possibly get you?"

"Well, if you put it that way then _sure_ I would just _love_ to go with you guys."

"Let's go then," Joey said as she headed for the door.

Aurora and Angelique followed her out of the hangout and together the three of them went to the security room. "This place is like a candy shop for nerds," Angelique exclaimed as she looked over the several monitors that were in the room.

"Well, call me a nerd then," Aurora said as she walked over to a computer terminal, "But I actually know how to use this stuff."

"Good," Joey remarked, "Look through yesterday's footage of the hangout."

"Already on it," she replied as she brought up the prior day's footage of the hangout and started fast-forwarding through it. It wasn't long until she got to Angelique, Joey, Megatron, and Starscream's hot tub shenanigans. "Oh my God, you guys…" she whined, "I still have virgin eyes. If you want to have a foursome, please do it behind closed doors."

"A foursome…" Joey mused as she glanced at Angelique, "I'm game!"

Angelique's eye twitched, "No…I don't think I am."

"_Joey_!" Aurora suddenly hissed, covering her eyes, "You could have warned me that this was going to turn into pornography!"

Joey gave a weak laugh before saying, "Well, we kind of have to watch it because right after Starscream finished I noticed the boogieman."

"He probably lives under Red Alert's bed. He's so grouchy."

"That's not nice, Angelique," Aurora remarked.

"Neither is he most days," she countered.

"Guys, someone tampered with the video," Joey stated.

"What do you mean?" Aurora asked.

"Watch," Joey said. She proceeded to hit play, much to Aurora's disgust. However, before Starscream could finish, the video suddenly ended, switching to black.

"Someone cut out the video," Angelique said, "Is that even possible?"

"It's possible if you know what you're doing," Aurora replied as she typed a few commands on the monitor. After a bit she shook her head before saying, "Whoever it was wiped whatever was left of that video clean. It's gone for good."

"And here I was really hoping for some proof," Joey sighed, "I really want to know who this bad ass is and what the hell he wants."

"Well, it seems as if it will be impossible to get it on security tape," Aurora said, "By the time we think to check, the footage will probably already be gone."

"We'll just have to figure something else out," Angelique remarked.

"But until then, we'll have to keep our guards up. There's no telling what this thing is capable of."

* * *

"There was another reported rape this morning. That brings the number of victims up to four."

"I know mom, I watched the news—

"Do the 'Bots know?"

"I…" Aurora sighed as she adjusted the volume on her phone, "I don't know mom, would it really concern them?"

"Let Optimus and Megatron know at least. Tell them there's a purported serial rapist. _Especially_ tell Megatron. Knowing Angelique's wildness she's likely to wander off and get raped _and _killed."

"Wow, mom, do you really have no faith in Angelique?"

"I'm just saying. You're much more level-headed than she is. I don't think she always thinks things through. She's more likely to put herself in a situation to be raped."

"I'll tell Megatron, but I don't think anything is going to happen to us."

"Why not? Your guys' names are all over the news."

"Yeah but we're not exactly human either."

"You never know, Aurora."

"No one knows where the base is. Angelique and I only leave it for school and even then the 'Bots take us—

"Those gang members know where the base is, so does Daniel McHugh and Lawrence Cutler. Who's to say one of them isn't going around raping poor, innocent girls?"

"We'll take the necessary precautions. I promise. But please mom, don't worry."

"I'm your mother, I'm _going_ to worry. Just, if anything unusual starts happening around the base, make sure you tell someone, okay?"

_"Aurora, we're the only ones here. You must have been dreaming."_

_"It looked like a shadow. I couldn't see any features, but its like, covered in this black smoke stuff. All I could see was its optics."_

"Aurora?"

"Yeah mom, I'll tell someone."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later. I love you."

"Love you too, mom," Aurora replied before hanging up.

* * *

"A serial rapist, you say?"

Aurora sighed heavily as she watched Megatron sort through a bunch of data logs. He had yet to make eye contact with her since she entered his office. She crossed her arms as she sat down in a chair across from his desk. "Will you at least try to take this seriously?" she asked, exasperated.

"I don't know why your mother is so worried. I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. A worthless human knows better than to try to rape Angelique lest they incite _my_ fury. You should be more worried."

"I should? I've already told Optimus about this, he's already stepped up security measures."

"Was that really necessary?"

"Will you at least acknowledge that I am sitting in front of you? What do I have to do, take my shirt off?"

Megatron looked up, blinking. Aurora watched as he stole a quick glance at her chest before meeting her gaze. "You wouldn't tell anyone, would you?" he asked.

Her eyes widened in surprise before she glared at him. "Unless you do something to step up security measures yourself," she seethed, "I'm telling Angelique you said that."

"Well, if you put it that way it looks as if I don't have a choice."

She offered him her hand, which he shook. As she left his office, he heard her say, "I'm still telling Optimus."

"No, wait!"

* * *

"Hey, Angelique."

"What's up, Joey?"

"There were two more reported rapes during the night last night. That brings the total number of victims up to six. And here I thought a town of this size could never be capable of such crimes."

Angelique shrugged, "I just hope they catch who's doing it. Both the 'Bots and 'Cons are on edge about it."

"I guess you can't really blame them," Joey said as she fiddled around with her camera.

"Are you ever going to put those pictures of our hot tub escapade up on Facebook?"

"I've been meaning to, but I keep forgetting. I keep monitoring the security room in hopes the boogieman shows up. You're welcome to look through the pictures if you want," Joey said as she handed the camera to her.

Angelique proceeded to turn it on and hit the playback button. "Awww," she exclaimed as she looked at the picture of her and Megatron, "It looks like we're about to kiss."

"You are forewarned; there are dirty pictures of Starscream and me on there."

"That doesn't surprise me," Angelique mused as she kept going through the pictures.

Joey watched her, smirking. She hoped to catch her reaction when she came across one of the inappropriate pictures. However, she caught a sudden movement out of the corner of her eye. Looking over, she nearly screamed in horror at what she saw.

The monster was back.

Blood red optics met hers before the shadowy figure turned towards Angelique and slowly advanced upon her. "An-Angelique," she stuttered and then realized that her voice wasn't even above a whisper. "Angelique," she said.

"What?"

"Turn around and take a picture."

"Why?" Angelique asked as she switched the camera out of the playback mode.

"Just do it."

She turned only to nearly drop the camera. "J-Joey," she wheezed, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Take the picture!"

_Click_.

A bright flash filled the room and the monster disappeared. "Oh God," Angelique breathed, "So much adrenaline and fear pumping through me right now…I'm going to throw up."

"Pull yourself together," Joey said as she came over and snatched the camera out of her hand.

"Think it's a demon?" she asked.

"That's what it is," Joey said, showing her the picture she had taken.

Angelique looked at the black smoky figure. The flash of the camera managed to reflect some of the metal of the being, but not well enough to give a solid shape to the figure. Its red optics were piercing. "I can't look at this," Angelique said, pushing Joey's hand away.

"This is proof. We need to show someone this right—

The camera suddenly went flying out of Joey's hand only to shatter against the far wall. Angelique screamed and stepped back away from Joey. "What do you want?" Joey yelled, glancing around the hangout.

Laughter.

* * *

"What is going on?" Megatron asked as he tried to console an inconsolable Angelique.

"We got spooked," Joey replied.

"By what?" he asked, seeing fear was still heavy in her eyes.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" she questioned as she held up what was left of her mangled camera.

Megatron eyed the camera before looking back to her. "No," he replied, "That's absurd."

"What about demons?"

"_What_ happened?"

"You didn't believe Angelique the first time when she told you, why would you believe her now?"

* * *

Aurora couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched, that someone was following her as she headed to Optimus' room to get some homework done. She glanced over her shoulder several times as she walked, just to reassure herself that nobody was there, that she was alone.

_"Wait, what if the _thing _is out there?"_

_"We'll just scream loudly."_

Aurora wanted to bite her tongue for ever giving that kind of advice. She dove her hand into her pocket to make sure she had her phone on her, which she did. If someone did surprise her, she could—

"Aurora…"

She whipped around. No one was there. Heart pounding, she turned back around. She tried to calm herself down as she kept walking. She was on edge as she tried to convince herself that she was just paranoid, that her mind was playing tricks on her. There was nothing to be afraid of.

_"Tell them there's a purported serial rapist."_

She cried out as she was suddenly slammed against a wall, the books she needed to do her homework with spilled onto the floor. Though her eyes were open in horror, all she could see was black. The shadow crushed itself against her and Aurora wheezed as she was smothered against the wall. Something seized her by the throat and forced her to look up into blazing red optics.

"I _want_ you…" it growled like a feral beast.

Aurora cringed, crying out again as hands suddenly groped under her shirt, into her pants, ripping them. The blackness was against her mouth, kissing her violently as it fingered and ravished her. She couldn't scream, she couldn't _move_. It tasted awful, vile. Tears slid out of the corners of her eyes as he inserted more fingers into her than she could handle.

"Your seal is still intact," it breathed lustfully, its breath putrid.

"Please don't do this…"

It laughed, digging deeper into her.

Aurora squeezed her eyes closed and braced herself for the worst. That was when she heard footsteps. Someone was coming. She grunted as she suddenly collapsed onto the floor, the figure gone, once again vanished.

"Aurora?"

She looked over to see Jetfire. In vain, she tried to wipe her tears away as he quickly went over to her and helped her to her feet. "What happened?" he asked.

"I-I need to see Optimus."

"Aurora…_Primus_, what happened? Your pants are ripped…you're bleeding."

Tears stung in her eyes. "Please Jetfire," she said as she tried not to cry, "Just get me to the med bay."

Jetfire did what she said. Once she was there, both Red Alert and Syndrome worked quickly to assess her. Red Alert only needed to take one look before he looked to Jetfire and said, "Call Optimus."

Jetfire felt his energon run cold as he stepped out of the med bay to make the call. "Jetfire to Optimus," he spoke into his comm. He sighed heavily. Making this kind of call was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

"What is it, Jetfire?"

"Sir, you need to come to the med bay."

"Does Red Alert have something for—

"It's Aurora."

"What happened?"

Jetfire vented a sigh. He didn't want to say…he didn't know how to say it.

"Jetfire…" Optimus said, his voice lower than normal.

"It looks like she's been raped."

* * *

"What _happened_?"

Red Alert took a cautious step back. Never before had he ever seen his leader this angry. "Jetfire found Aurora collapsed in the hallway not too far from the rec. room. Aurora has not spoken about what happened to her. Syndrome is assessing her now," the medical officer explained.

"Is she injured?"

"Yes, but not seriously."

"Was she raped?"

Red Alert hesitated, letting the question hang in the air. Optimus furrowed his optics. "Well, was she?" he asked, anger radiating from his voice.

"No," Syndrome answered, suddenly approaching them. A look of relief went across Optimus' face. However, that relief quickly died as Syndrome said, "Her seal is still intact, but there were signs of forced entry."

Growling, Optimus pushed past her and went into the room Aurora was in, the door closing behind him. Aurora looked over to him as he came into the room. He watched as she quickly tried to wipe her tears away, but was unable to. "Primus, Aurora," he breathed.

"Optimus," she cried as he crushed her in a hug.

He kissed her, pulling her tightly against him as he did. "I'm not letting you out of my sight ever again," he said as he gently wiped her tears away.

"That rapist…he's in the base, he's _been_ in the base—

"We will find him, I promise you that. We will find him and I _will_ make him pay."

"No _listen_ to me, it was the thing I saw that one night but you didn't believe me, it was that _thing_. Angelique and Joey have seen it too."

"Do you know who it was?"

"No, it looks like a demon."

He kissed her again. "You are not to leave my sight," he breathed, "I am the only one who can have you."

She choked out a few sobs before saying, "It hurt so much."

"Easy," he said gently, "I'm here. I'm _right_ here."

"I'm going to need to cry," she whimpered, "And I'm going to have nightmares and I won't want to go places alone."

"I will be right there to wipe away your tears, to wake you from your nightmares. I will face your fears with you, always, I _vow_."

"I love you," she cried, "I _love _you."

"I love you more," he breathed as he kissed her again, "I love you more than anything."

* * *

Megatron sat in his room with Angelique, watching television with her in an effort to get her to calm down. It had taken forever to finally get her to stop crying. He held her tightly against him as he tried to get her to stop shaking. He kissed her neck as he rubbed a hand along her back.

"What did you see?" he purred.

"A demon."

"There is nothing out there more frightening than me," he rumbled before kissing her neck again.

Angelique switched the channel to a local news station as he trailed kisses along her jaw before swallowing her lips in a powerful kiss. A small moan escaped her throat as he deepened the kiss.

_"This just in…authorities just released a notice that there has been a seventh rape victim. Once again, she is too young for us to release her name."_

She wrapped an arm around his neck, pushing herself closer to him. A possessive growl rumbled free from Megatron's throat as he wrapped an arm around her waist. He shifted, holding her down on the couch as he laid over her. He exchanged his glossa for hers before he breathed, "You have _nothing_ to fear."

"Megatron…"

_"However, this victim claims to have recognized her rapist…"_

He started kissing down her neck. He dipped a hand into her pants. Angelique craned her neck away from him and attempted to sit up so that she could get a better look at the television.

"Megatron, stop."

_"_…_as Megatron, leader of the Decepticons."_

* * *

What's to come:  
-More bad blood between Megatron and Angelique's father  
-Optimus and Megatron arguing  
-More questions being answered

Stay tuned! Oh, and please review!


	42. Eight, Nine, Ten

Okay, so my college schedule is pretty lax. I'm thinking I'll be able to update fairly often, even though I do have to write a 40-50 page paper. No worries. Hope you like this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 42: Eight, Nine, Ten**

"_What_?"

Megatron watched as Angelique quickly scooted away from him, a mixture of shock, horror, and disbelief went across her face. His spark suddenly felt heavy in his chest, constricting with panic. He glanced at the television before looking at Angelique. "You have to know it isn't me…" he breathed, "There must be some mistake. I've been with you…I haven't left the base. You _know _this." He reached for her, but Angelique shied away.

"Angelique," he growled, "You were with me all afternoon."

She jumped when her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket. She glanced at Megatron before she took it out and answered it. "Hello?" she asked.

_"Angelique, it's Optimus."_

"Optimus?"

_"You need to come down to the med bay."_

"What for?"

There was a pause. Megatron watched as a look of dread went across her face. "Optimus…" she said.

_"Aurora has been attacked. We have every reason to believe her attacker was the serial rapist."_

Angelique felt tears sting in her eyes. Unable to say anything, she hung up. Without even looking Megatron's way, she got up from the couch and headed for the door. Megatron watched her as she went. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"The med bay," she replied.

"What happened?"

"Aurora," she choked and then quickly turned away from him so that he wouldn't see her tears. She didn't want to tell him, she wasn't even sure _what_ had happened. She felt her insides wrench with unease when she felt Megatron behind her suddenly, snaking his arms around her waist.

_"_…_there has been a seventh rape victim…"_

She flinched as he pressed his lips into the nape of her neck. They seemed to sear her synthetic flesh, branding her.

_"_…_this victim claims to have recognized her rapist…"_

"Aurora's victim eight," she confessed quickly, letting the words tumble out of her mouth as she cringed.

"Was she raped?"

_"_…_as Megatron, leader of the Decepticons."_

She turned to him, her eyes wide, her expression broken. "It wasn't you, was it?" she sobbed, her voice choked. She watched as a look of shock and anger went across his face. "Tell me it wasn't you!" she cried.

She cried out as he pinned her against the door harshly, his full weight nearly crushing her. "Do_ not_ accuse me of such things!" he growled venomously in her ear, "Don't you _dare_, not after everything I have done for _you_."

"Megatron I…I have to go," she breathed.

"Do you really love me, Angelique? It's quite amazing how quickly your trust has disappeared after one _false_ news report."

"N-No, it wasn't you…I—

"Say it again."

"It wasn't you."

"You would do well to remember that."

"I'm sorry," she said, a pained expression went across her face as a few tears escaped from the corners of her eyes, "Just please don't doubt how much I do love you."

"Angelique…" he murmured softly, his lips finding hers. He kissed her deeply only to notice that she was trembling. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm just…" she hesitated, not wanting to say she was absolutely terrified of everything that was happening. "I'm scared," she finally admitted, "I don't know what to make of everything that's going on."

"We will figure things out."

"I need to get to the med bay."

"I will go with you, Primus forbid I let you wander around here by yourself with a rapist on the loose," he said as he released her.

Angelique nodded and together they left the room.

* * *

Aurora felt her insides twist painfully when she saw Angelique enter the med bay accompanied by Megatron. She had requested that Optimus notify her sister so that she could tell her what happened and that she was alright, however, she hadn't expected Megatron's presence. She didn't have much time to worry about it when Angelique suddenly ran over to her side and asked, "Who did it? Who am I making Megatron kill? What happened?"

"I wasn't raped, Angelique," she replied as she leaned closer to Optimus, "I _almost_ was, but thankfully Jetfire came by. And I don't know who it was."

"Was it the demon? Joey and I saw it earlier; it broke her camera after I took a picture of it."

"You mean the big black scary shadowy figure?"

Angelique nodded.

"Yes, that's what attacked me, but—

"Aurora, I thought I told you that thing wasn't real," Optimus said.

She glared at him, "No one else here attacked me, not unless someone is wearing a disguise and going around raping other girls in the town."

Angelique and Megatron exchanged wary glances, but from the look the Decepticon leader held in his optics, Angelique knew not to bring up the news report that was naming him as a suspect. Instead, she said, "Well, regardless of who it was, you are okay, right?"

"I'll be okay," Aurora said quietly, "I'll feel better when whoever it was is caught."

"If there's anything I can do to help—

"Just don't go anywhere alone," Aurora replied, "And make sure Joey knows that too. We still don't know who we're dealing with." She glanced at Megatron and saw an expression of dread on his face. She watched him, feeling suspicious. There was something that just wasn't right.

"Well, if everything is okay here, perhaps we should get going," Megatron said, looking to Angelique.

Angelique looked to Aurora before asking, "Is that okay?"

Aurora nodded, "But be careful."

"I will," Angelique replied before leaving with Megatron.

Aurora watched them as they left before looking to Optimus and asking, "Is it just me or does Megatron seem…uptight?"

"Who can blame him?" Optimus asked, "If there's a rapist loose in the base…"

"Optimus, can transformers change their optic color?"

He looked to her, suspicious. "Yes," he replied, "They can. Is something wrong?"

"No," she said, "Just thinking."

"We'll get to the bottom of things," Optimus said, "Come on; let's go do something to get this off your mind."

Aurora nodded and allowed the Autobot leader to lead her back to his quarters. They agreed to watch a movie, however, when Optimus turned the television on, it came on to a news station. Before Optimus had a chance to change the channel, a reporter said, "Megatron has yet to respond to the allegations brought against him."

"What?" Aurora asked.

"Must have something to do with when he tortured Kyle," Optimus said.

"Authorities continue to treat him as a suspect in the several rapes that have occurred in Smiths Landing."

Both Optimus and Aurora froze with shock. "No," Aurora breathed, not wanting to believe what she was hearing.

Optimus growled before turning off the television and looking to Aurora, anger burning in his optics, "Tell me again what your attacker looked like."

"I…I couldn't tell. He was hidden by this black smoke, his optics were red. It didn't sound like Megatron."

"Considering Megatron did make a sexual pass at you, whether it was a joke or not, and considering he was so lax in wanting to step up security in response to these rapes there stands reason that he _could be_ your attacker."

"Optimus…"

"Come with me, Aurora," he said as he got up from the couch, "We're going to find out just what Megatron has been up to."

* * *

"Megatron, where are you going?" Angelique asked as he headed for the door of his quarters.

"I need to see Joey," he said, "Stay here, keep the doors locked and _do not_ go anywhere else. Do you understand?"

"Why?"

"You said you took a picture of that _thing_ right? And then it smashed her camera?"

"Yes."

"The camera may be broken, but the memory card may still be intact. If that is the case, that might be my saving grace. I fear that someone is trying to frame me for whatever reason," he explained, "Stay here."

Angelique didn't have a chance to say anything else as Megatron walked out of the door. She went over and quickly locked it. She sighed heavily, leaning against the door. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to erase the overwhelming thoughts that were running through her mind. The only thing she wanted more than anything was for all of this to be over. Megatron was innocent, she knew it. No matter what anyone said, no matter—

There was a knock on the door. Surprised, Angelique jumped back. "W-Who's there?" she called out.

"It's me," a voice responded, she recognized it as Optimus.

She unlocked the door and opened it only to see Optimus and Aurora standing there. She felt her tanks churn uneasily. "What brings you guys here?" she asked.

"Where's Megatron?" Optimus demanded.

Angelique saw the anger in his optics. She hesitated before she asked, "Did you guys happen to see the news?"

"_Where_ is he?"

She cringed at Optimus' anger. "He's not here," she said, "Look, I've been with him every night since this started and I was with him this afternoon when Aurora was attacked, he hasn't done anything—

"Were you?" Optimus asked, "Or are you covering for him?"

Angelique glared at him, "Megatron has no reason to rape seven other girls or try to rape my sister."

"Angelique," her sister said and then hesitated, "I should have told you this before…about a week ago Megatron said something to me, I thought it was just a joke, but now I'm not so sure."

"What did he say?"

She sighed heavily, "I had asked him to step up security measures because of the rapes going on, but he wouldn't even look at me while I was talking to him. He was being very nonchalant about the issue. I asked him if I had to take off my shirt just to get his attention. He stole a glance at my chest before wondering if I would tell anyone."

Tears stung in Angelique's eyes, "You're lying!"

"Do you think I would lie about that considering the circumstances?" Aurora asked, "Think about it, Angelique. Megatron is a suspect in the other rapes; it is entirely possible that he crafted this demon façade as you call it."

"It's not him," she pleaded, tears spilling out of her eyes.

"Where is he?" Optimus asked.

"He went to see Joey."

Alarm went across the Autobot leader's face. "Is she alone?" he asked.

"I-I don't know."

"Let's hope not," Optimus replied before taking Aurora by the hand and leading her away.

Angelique watched them walk away before closing the door and relocking it. As soon as the door was closed, a loud, pain-filled sob escaped her throat as she sank to her knees. "No," she sobbed, "No, no, _no_."

Megatron was innocent, wasn't he? No matter what anyone said? No matter what?

* * *

"I'm afraid it is beyond repair."

Joey sighed heavily as Starscream handed the camera back to her. "Bummer," she remarked, "This thing was expensive."

"How'd you break it anyway?"

She pursed her lips to the side before saying, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Let me guess, it was that demon again?" he chuckled, "Or is that just your excuse for dropping the camera?"

She glared at him, "I didn't drop my camera. And it would be nice if you didn't joke around about this especially when there's been girls getting raped."

He gave a sympathetic smile before wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close. "If you are scared, Jo," he said, "Regardless of what it is, I will protect you."

She leaned against him just as there was a knock on the door. Starscream broke away from the embrace as he went over to the door and opened it. "Megatron," he stated surprised, "What brings you here?"

"Is Joey here?"

"I am," she called, "Starscream, let him in."

Starscream stood to the side, watching as his leader entered. The door closed behind him. Joey looked to the Decepticon leader before asking, "What's up?"

"Do you still have that camera?" he asked.

"You mean this one?" Joey replied, holding up the smashed remains of her camera, "I don't see how it would be of any use to you."

Megatron took the camera from her and proceeded to force open the compartment that held the memory card. He took it out, relieved to see that it was still intact. "Oh," Joey remarked before snatching the memory card out of his hand, "That's _mine_."

Megatron narrowed his optics at her, "Why don't you show me that picture Angelique took then?"

"Sure thing," Joey replied before going over to a computer and inserting the memory card into it. Both Megatron and Starscream came up from behind her as she accessed the contents of the memory card.

"_Joey_!" Megatron suddenly hissed, shielding his optics, "You could have told me there were dirty pictures of you and Starscream."

Joey just chuckled, "I suppose I could have. Aurora suggested the other day that we should have a foursome. I'm not shy, I'd be game."

"Whoa," Starscream remarked looking to Megatron and then back to Joey, "A threesome with Angelique maybe, but I don't know about a foursome."

"No, that's _not_ happening," Megatron said, "Not unless you let Angelique and I borrow Joey sometime."

"How about you guys just borrow each other while I borrow Angelique?" Joey suggested.

"Can we watch?" both Starscream and Megatron asked in unison, causing Joey to laugh.

Suddenly, there was another knock on the door. "We never get visitors," Starscream mused as he headed for the door, "Just what is going on?" He opened it only to see Optimus standing there with Aurora. "Can I help you?" the Decepticon second in command asked.

"Is Megatron here?"

"Yes…he's looking something up with Joey…can I ask what is going on?"

"A-ha!" Joey exclaimed as she pulled up the image that Angelique had taken, "There's our demon."

Aurora shoved her way into the room, "You mean, you have a picture?"

"You bet," Joey said looking to her, "Come get a look."

Aurora went over to the computer followed by Optimus and Starscream. As soon as Aurora's eyes fell on the image, she shuddered. "That's definitely the thing that attacked me earlier," she said.

"What is it?" Starscream asked, trying to get a better look.

"Well, I was hoping you guys could answer that question," Joey said, "Angelique, Aurora, and I have all seen it, but no one else has. It seems to only make its presence known to us."

"It could be an elaborate disguise," Optimus said, looking to Megatron.

"But who would disguise themselves and go around and scare us?" Joey asked, "And Aurora, what do you mean by that thing attacking you earlier?"

"It…tried to rape me," she quietly confessed.

"Wait a minute…is that _thing_ the serial rapist?"

"That's what I'm thinking," Aurora replied, "And if it has only made itself known to you, Angelique, and me…I can't help but think we're intended targets."

"Speaking of which," Optimus remarked, "Megatron, have you seen the news reports lately?"

The Decepticon leader visibly winced before saying, "Yes…I have."

"Including the ones naming you as a suspect in the rapes?"

"If you are suggesting that I was the one that attacked your mate then you are _very_ mistaken," Megatron remarked, looking to Optimus.

"You did make a sexual pass at her," Optimus stated, his optics narrowing.

"He and Angelique do that with Joey and I all the time," Starscream remarked with a shrug.

"In my defense, Aurora was the one that made the pass, I merely asked a follow up question," Megatron said, "I didn't tell her to do anything nor did I force her to do anything."

"Where were you this afternoon then?" Optimus asked.

"He was trying to calm Angelique down after we saw this thing," Joey said, gesturing to the image on the computer, "If Angelique isn't a good enough alibi, I know I am."

"You have raped in the past," Optimus continued, glaring at the Decepticon leader, "During the war."

"During the war," Megatron angrily reiterated, "How long have we been at peace now and how much longer do I have to take you throwing everything I've ever done wrong in my face? I have no reason to prey upon underage _human_ females or your mate. You have accused me of not changing in the past; however, it's _you_ that hasn't changed. You still associate me with who I used to be just because of an incorrect news report."

"Megatron—

"Save it, Optimus," the Decepticon leader remarked as he turned towards the door, "I will clear my name on my own." And with that, he left the room.

Joey sighed heavily before looking to the Autobot leader and saying, "Cool it, okay? For a guy that doesn't much emotion, he seems to be pretty sensitive."

"It's not him, anyway," Starscream said, "Regardless of his reputation; Megatron would never do such a thing."

Optimus just looked to them before leaving the room with Aurora. Joey waited until they were gone before she said, "Well, there sure is a lot of negative energy radiating from him."

"Well, if my mate was nearly raped, I would feel the same way."

Joey looked to him before leaning against him. Starscream smiled before wrapping his arms around her. "All I can say is if you see that thing again, let me know," he said before pressing his lips to her neck.

"Don't worry," she said, "You'll be the first to know. But I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to run to the security room real quick to make sure there isn't additional footage."

"You shouldn't go alone."

"I'll be alright; it'll only take a couple minutes."

Starscream sighed heavily, "Alright, but be quick. If you're not back soon I'm going to come looking."

Joey nodded. "You bet," she said before leaving the room.

* * *

"Angelique, let me in."

She jumped when she heard Megatron on the other side of the door. She tried to wipe her tears away, but her efforts were in vain. She heard him knock lightly. She didn't move from where she was, sitting leaning against the door.

"Angelique," he said again, his voice gentler, "Is everything alright?"

"No," she managed to reply, her voice weak.

"No? What do you mean? Did something happen?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked as a new wave of tears escaped from her eyes.

"Tell you what?"

"What you told Aurora when she asked you to step up security measures."

Silence. Angelique felt her face crumple. She tried to hold back the sobs that were threatening to escape her throat. "Do not doubt me," she heard him say, "Let me in so I can explain."

Weakly, she climbed to her feet. She wiped her face again before unlocking the door and opening it. They both stood there for a moment staring at each other before Angelique stepped to the side and allowed Megatron to come in. Megatron waited for the door to close before he said, "Angelique, I am sorry."

She squeezed her eyes closed in an effort to keep from crying. She wished he would lie, that he would deny it. "Why?" she asked, dreading the answer. She imagined this was how Aurora felt when Elita had suddenly walked into the base.

"I know we both make passes at Starscream and Joey quite frequently," he said.

"Are you saying it was a joke?"

"It certainly wasn't meant to be serious," Megatron said.

"But if she agreed not to tell, would have gone through with it?"

"I would never betray you."

Angelique sat down heavily upon the berth. She didn't want to ask anything else. Everything hurt too much. First Megatron was accused of being the rapist, then she found out her sister had been attacked; now Megatron was confessing that he had made a sexual pass at her sister. Angelique let the tears slide down her cheeks this time, her spark feeling as if it was constricting inside its chamber. "Do you love me?" she asked, "I know you won't say it."

"Yes," he replied, "You are the only one that I do or ever will."

Someone pounded their fist against the door. "Open up this door _right now_," demanded an angry voice.

Angelique's eyes flew open wide as she rushed over to the door and opened it. "Dad," she exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"Do I really need to explain myself?" he asked as he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the room, "I told you not to see Megatron, yet you refuse to listen to me. Have you seen the headlines?"

"Megatron didn't do it," she said.

"Sure he didn't," he remarked, "You're coming with me."

"Dad, stop, I'm safer here—

"With him?" he dad seethed as he gestured to Megatron.

"Dad, Aurora's already been attacked."

"What?!" he roared. He immediately fixed a glare on Megatron, "If I find out it was you, you _will_ be sorry!"

Megatron just glared back at him before saying, "Do not take her. She is safest here with me. The news reports are wrong. I did not harm Aurora and I will not harm Angelique."

But he just shut the door in Megatron's face.

* * *

Joey resented the fact that proof was so hard to come by. If that _thing_ had appeared in the hangout earlier, then there absolutely had to be security footage of it. If she could find footage, then everyone was one step closer to figuring out just who this monster was.

Shaking off the slight feeling of paranoia, she stepped into the security room. She glanced over the several monitors that were inside live feeding footage. She sat down in a chair that was in the room and started going through a computer. She clicked on a few icons before finding her way into footage that had been recorded that afternoon. Eventually, she found the recording for the hangout.

She fast-forwarded through her and Angelique's discussion before the camera suddenly switched to another movement it captured in the room. Joey hit the pause button as soon as a black, shadowy figure suddenly appeared, its optics flashing red.

"Well, more proof," she stated, "Now all we got to do is figure out who this bad ass is and just what the hell he wants."

She didn't notice the door close, clicking as it locked.

Feeling satisfied, she glanced back over to the monitors that were showing live feeds. She was on the monitor. "What?" she whispered as she leaned closer to get a better look. The monitor showed red optics suddenly light up behind her. Gasping, Joey whirled around only to see the shadowy figure standing there.

"Jovina…"

She scrambled to her feet only to be pushed backwards onto the computer terminal. The shadow loomed over her, laughing menacingly as he accessed different footage. He pressed play as her and Starscream had their lovemaking session in the hot tub.

"How'd you know my name?" she demanded, trying not to let her fear come through.

"Whore," it sneered as it suddenly pinned her against the terminal, "Bend over for _me_."

"Don't bet on it," Joey remarked as she tried to squirm away from the monster, "Go fuck someone else!"

"Tried, but we were interrupted," it replied.

Joey gasped as it suddenly flipped her onto her stomach, bending her over the terminal. It pressed its full weight against her, crushing her into the terminal. "N-No," she wheezed, "Get _off_."

Cold hands snaked up her legs and under the skirt she was wearing. "I will…inside you," it chuckled, ripping her panties.

"Don't fucking do this."

Its panel hissed open. Joey cried out as it suddenly impaled her, its spike filling her to the hilt. Tears leaked out of her eyes as she clenched her teeth together. She squeezed her eyes closed as it taunted, "Don't worry. At least Starscream will believe you now."

"Who are you?" she growled, a red button catching her eye. Slowly, she reached up.

It didn't answer; instead it eased back before thrusting into her again. Joey winced as the monster worked to establish a rhythm. Her fingertips were just out of reach of the button. She strained to reach it, but couldn't. She swallowed hard. "Is that all you got?" she asked, "Starscream fucks harder than this."

Joey cried out as the monster suddenly thrust into her deeper than she could handle. However, his thrust gave her the boost she needed as she hit the button, causing an alarm to go off. A feral growl escaped the figure's throat as he threw her onto the floor, kicking her in the head.

Joey immediately fell into darkness.

* * *

"Thundercracker to Megatron."

The Decepticon leader growled as the call came across his comm. "What is it?" he asked.

"An alarm was activated in the security room."

"It's probably a faulty sensor," Megatron said and then stopped, "Although, Aurora was attacked not that long ago…"

"Attacked?"

"I'll go see what's going on."

* * *

"You stay here, Angelique, and don't you _dare_ come out."

Angelique had little chance to protest as her father closed the door to her room in the house. She tried the door only to realize it was locked. "Dad!" she shouted, "Dad, you can't lock me in here, that's unlawful imprisonment! Dad!"

But nobody answered.

With a sigh, Angelique sat down on the bed in her room. It had been ages since she had been in her own room in her parents' house. She lay down, sprawling herself out on the full-size mattress. Quite honestly, she was glad to be here away from everyone, away from everything that was happening, away from Megatron.

A jolt of pain stabbed through her heart as she thought of him. She was excruciatingly mad at him for what he had done, even if it had been a joke, even if he hadn't been serious. She closed her eyes as a few tears slipped down her cheeks.

How ugly everything was turning out to be.

* * *

Megatron was not prepared for the sight that awaited him as he stepped into the security room. There, lying lifeless on the floor was Joey. Energon oozed down the side of her face, pooling on the floor beneath her. "Joey?" he exclaimed before going to her side. He gave her a light nudge in an effort to resuscitate her. She didn't respond.

Acting quickly, he went over to the computer terminal where he deactivated the alarm. He knelt back beside Joey, feeling for a pulse. "Megatron to Red Alert," he spoke into his comm. He sighed in relief when he felt that Joey still had a pulse.

As he waited for Red Alert to reply, he continued to look her over, assessing her injuries. He felt his energon run cold when he noticed her ripped panties on the floor. "Oh no," he breathed. He lifted up her skirt only to see energon leaking out of her valve.

"Red Alert here, what is it Megatron?"

"I found Joey unresponsive in the security room; I will be bringing her down to the med bay she is in need of an immediate medical assist."

"I will prepare a berth for her—

"Red Alert…"

"What?"

"Prepare a rape kit as well."

* * *

"Dad, I'm fine—

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Aurora looked to her father, hating that she had to explain this to him. It was humiliating, though she knew it wasn't her fault. "Physically yes, I am okay," she replied, "Mentally still has yet to be determined."

It was then her father looked to Optimus before he said, "You keep an eye on her, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir—

"I mean it; if something happens to her the first person I'm coming to is you."

"I will not let her out of my sight."

"You got that right," her father said before looking back to her, "Aurora, we should go down to the police station and file charges. The sooner we can get Megatron behind bars, the better."

"Hold on dad, we're not even sure if it was him."

"Red Alert to Optimus."

Both Aurora and her father looked to the Autobot leader as he answered the comm. call, "Optimus here, what is it?"

"Joey's been raped, sir," Red Alert stated, deciding to be blunt, "Whoever that rapist is, he's here in the base."

"Is she alright?"

Red Alert sighed, "For now. She sustained a nasty wound to her head, blunt force trauma. Megatron brought her in; he's informing Starscream as we speak."

"Wait a minute, _Megatron_ brought her in?"

"Yes, he found her—

"Red Alert, Megatron has been named by authorities as a suspect in the rapes. Aurora and I just saw Joey not that long ago…none of this makes sense."

"Would you like me to hold Megatron here, sir?"

"Yes, I will be there in a bit. Optimus out," the Autobot leader stated before catching Mr. Carlson's gaze.

"You should lock him up and see if the rapes continue," he said.

"Your opinion is noted," Optimus said before taking Aurora by the hand, "Let's go."

* * *

"What _happened_?"

Megatron looked over only to see that his second in command had entered the med bay. Without waiting for an answer, he immediately made his way over to Red Alert who was monitoring Joey's condition. "How is she?" he asked.

"I had to induce stasis," Red Alert said, "She was hit in the head, I don't know by what. She suffered a lot of trauma."

Starscream looked her over from where she was laying on a berth, a broken expression taking over the features of his face. "What happened?" he asked again, this time looking to Megatron.

Megatron gave him a sad look before saying softly, "She was raped, Starscream. I am sorry."

Starscream howled in anger before turning back to Joey. He took her hand in his before he sank down to his knees at her bedside. "I'll kill the piece of slag that did this to her. I am going to _tear_ him _apart_."

"Starscream…" Megatron breathed just as the doors to the med bay opened and Optimus entered with Aurora and Jetfire.

Optimus observed Starscream for a moment before looking to Megatron and saying, "You discovered her?"

"She went to the security room," Starscream said, "After the rest of you left, she wanted to go see if she could find more footage of that _thing_. I wanted to go with her, but she said she would be alright on her own."

"It's not your fault, Starscream," Megatron said, going over to him and laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Megatron, considering the allegations against you, the fact that you made a pass at Aurora, and the fact it was you that discovered Joey, I am afraid that I have no choice but to place you under arrest."

He scowled at Optimus. "You cannot be serious, Prime," he snarled, "I have not done anything wrong!"

"It is the only way to determine your innocence. If the rapes continue while you are locked away, then you are innocent. However, if they stop…" he didn't have to finish his sentence for Megatron to understand.

"Mark my words, Optimus," he seethed as stasis cuffs were slapped over his wrists, "The day my innocence is proven, that is the day the alliance is over."

Optimus just looked away from him.

* * *

"Did he hurt you?"

Angelique's eyes flew open when she heard those words whispered through the darkness of her room. Warily, she sat up on the bed and glanced around. There was just enough moonlight in the room for her to make out a dark silhouette. Gasping, she reached over and turned on the light only to see Optimus standing there in her room.

She sighed with relief when she realized it was him. "Jeepers, Optimus," she said, "You scared the daylights out of me."

He smirked, "Sorry. Mind if I have a seat?"

"Oh, no, go ahead," Angelique said, scooting over so that he could sit beside her on the bed, "What brings you here, anyways?"

"I came to see how you were coping considering all the allegations against Megatron."

Angelique tensed, "I um…don't really want to talk about that. I mean, I need time."

"I understand," he replied, resting his hand on her thigh. Slowly he slid his hand upwards.

"Op-Optimus," she stuttered, attempting to scoot away from him, "What are you doing?"

He chuckled.

She tried to shove his hand away, but was unable to. "Optimus…" she breathed, "Stop this."

But he didn't. "Why does Megatron want you?" he asked, leaning closer to her.

Before she could react, he slipped a hand around her neck. She flailed as she was suddenly pinned against the bed. Despite how hard she struggled, she was no match for Optimus. "What are you doing?" she demanded again.

He laughed, but the voice was not his own. Optimus' image suddenly faded into that of the monster's. "Who…who are you?" she asked, trying not to let her fear show.

It smothered its mouth against hers, preventing her from being able to scream as it tore the seam of her leggings before ripping the seam of her panties. "I couldn't have Aurora, I couldn't have Joey, I _will_ have you," it growled.

"No…no, no, _no_!"

The monster simply laughed before forcing his spike into her valve. Her face crumpled in agony. She cried out as it drove itself into her over and over again. There was no pleasure, only pain as it thrust into her endlessly.

"Who are you?" she asked again, her voice barely above a whisper. Tears fell from the corners of her eyes as she beheld the lust, the pleasure in the monster's burning red optics. "Wouldn't you like this more if it was your name I moaned?"

He shuddered at the thought. "No," he breathed, kissing her neck, "Your whimpering is enough for now."

Angelique felt like something inside her died when he suddenly grunted. She bit her lip as the monster finally spilled himself inside of her. When his spike finally finished throbbing, he pulled out of her, laughing as he did so. "Dirty girl," he breathed, his systems whining loudly, "Megatron won't want you now. Though, considering what happened between him and Aurora, I doubt he wants you anymore."

Angelique bit back the sobs that threatened to escape her throat. "Go away!" she demanded, "You got what you want, leave me _alone_."

"Oh, my dear," he said as he traced a fingertip over the features of her face, "This will keep happening to you, Joey, and Aurora. It will keep happening until my master gets what he wants."

"Your master?"

But the last thing Angelique heard was the monster's laughter before he slapped his knuckles across her face, rendering her unconscious.

* * *

"Jetfire, get him out of here," Optimus stated, gesturing to Megatron.

However, before he could move to do so, the doors to the med bay opened. No one was prepared for what they saw. An unconscious Angelique was carried into the med bay, however, no one was there to carry her. It appeared as if she was floating as she was carried over to a berth and gently laid down.

"Do _not_ tell me!" Megatron roared, fighting against the cuffs that restrained his arms. Jetfire held him back. "Let me go!" he snarled.

"Angelique…" Aurora breathed, her voice filled with terror.

Laughter.

"Who is there?" Optimus called.

Everyone looked over only to see a black shadowy figure suddenly appear beside Angelique's berth. Its red optics flashed before it vanished.

* * *

Okay I didn't really answer any questions, but I promise, next chapter I will tell you all who this monster guy is. I promise! But until then, please review!


	43. Weapon of Vengeance

This chapter was miserable to write. It took four attempts and it still needs work, but this is the best it's going to be. Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this one.

* * *

**Chapter 43: Weapon of Vengeance**

"Let me _go_!"

Optimus winced as Megatron bellowed. His spark hemorrhaged with sadness as he looked to Megatron with sympathetic optics. "Jetfire," he said, "Do as he says."

Jetfire snapped the stasis cuffs off. Without bothering to rub the soreness from his wrists, Megatron immediately went to Angelique's side. Optimus watched as he took her in his arms before burying his face in her neck. "I am so sorry," he breathed, his voice broken. Optimus felt his spark break as he noticed a tear slip out of Megatron's optic.

Megatron, the ruthless tyrant, the slayer of countless thousands, the harbinger of death was grieving because he failed to protect the one he cared about the most. He feathered kisses over her face, pleading with her to wake up and forgive him, but she didn't. He looked to Optimus, his optics flaring with hatred. "Everything is _your_ fault," he seethed, "You caused Angelique to doubt me, her father hates me, and you accused me of the _foulest_ of crimes despite my innocence. And now…" He looked back to Angelique as he continued to address Optimus, "I should kill you."

"Sir, none of us believed Joey, Angelique, or Aurora about this _thing_ in the first place, we're all to blame," Starscream said, "None of us were acting appropriately considering the severity of the circumstances."

"It's not the appropriate time to be pointing fingers, we're _all_ too emotionally compromised," Red Alert said.

"Have you nothing to say for yourself, Prime?" Megatron asked as he looked back to the Autobot leader.

"I was wrong and I am very sorry," Optimus admitted, "But I feel no matter what I say, you will be unmoved. The wellbeing of our mates should be our top priority at the moment, that and stopping this monster before he attacks again."

"His fate was sealed the moment he laid his optics on Angelique with ill intentions in mind," Megatron snarled.

"You should allow me to assess her," Red Alert said, stepping forward.

Megatron glared at him, "And let you prod around where you don't belong?"

"If she's not waking up then she could be seriously injured," the medic responded, his visor flaring with anger, "Don't accuse me of wanting to simply _prod_ around."

"Syndrome," he growled, "Syndrome will assess her under _my_ supervision."

"Come with me, then," Syndrome said gesturing to a room that was off from the med bay.

Megatron lifted Angelique in his arms before following Syndrome into the room, the door closing behind them.

Starscream stared after them for a moment before looking to Red Alert and asking, "What about Joey? How long must she be in stasis?"

"She will come of stasis on her own," Red Alert said, "Hopefully when she does wake up, she'll be able to tell us what happened to her."

"Her and Angelique both," Aurora said, "They might be able to give us more clues about who this transformer is."

"Until then," Optimus said, "The entire base needs to go on lockdown. Jetfire, report back to the command center and debrief the others about what is going on. The sooner we have more optics looking out for this monster, the better."

"Yes sir," Jetfire stated before leaving the med bay.

"Sir," Red Alert remarked, "What are you going to do about Megatron? He is very upset, to say the least. He did say he would break the alliance."

"I am afraid we will have to wait and see what happens," Optimus replied, "I can only hope he is able to look past my ill-judgment and have a change of spark."

Aurora slipped her hand into his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's not your fault," she said.

"Don't leave my sight, Aurora," he breathed as he pulled her against him.

"I won't."

* * *

Stars exploded across her vision as she came to, the sounds of humming machinery filled her audios, something prodded inside of her.

"No!" Angelique gasped, sitting up.

Strong hands guided her back down. "It's okay," a voice said gently.

"Megatron," she choked, tears brimming in her eyes as she looked to him, a broken expression on his face. "I'm sorry," she said as tears slipped out of her eyes. She tried to wipe them away. "I tried to stop him, but I couldn't, I—

He wiped her tears away. "Angelique…" he breathed, "You have nothing to be sorry for. I failed to protect you."

"I'm sorry for doubting you," she said, clinging to his arm, "For being a crybaby."

He kissed her forehead before saying, "It isn't your fault."

She looked down only to see Syndrome between her legs, assessing her. She groaned, squeezing her eyes closed as she waited for Syndrome to finish swabbing around and doing whatever she was doing.

"It's okay," Megatron said, trying to reassure her.

"Is she almost done?" Angelique asked, "Waking up to someone _else_ poking around down there wasn't exactly what I was hoping for."

"Sorry," Syndrome apologized quickly, "I am merely assessing you to see if you were injured. If you refuse my aid, I cannot force it upon you. Would you like me to stop?"

"Will it help you get evidence against who did this?"

"Yes."

"You may finish," she said, shifting her gaze back to Megatron.

Syndrome quickly did so. She knew Angelique was uncomfortable and felt completely desecrated. When she was finished, she turned a blind eye as she allowed Megatron to help the gynoid re-dress. "You don't have any serious injuries," Syndrome said, turning back to Angelique once she had her pants back on, "I am very sorry for what happened."

Tears filled Angelique's eyes and she quickly looked away from her. "I'll be alright," she said, "Thanks."

Megatron observed the sadness that filled her eyes and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her against him. "You are safe now," he said.

Syndrome nodded, "You are welcome to stay here, if you wish. If you want to talk about anything—

Angelique shook her head. "I need some time," she said before looking to Megatron, "Let's go." She headed for the door, Megatron following behind her. She opened it and stepped out only to catch the gazes of Starscream, Red Alert, Aurora, and Optimus. She stiffened, freezing with fear as Optimus' gaze met hers. She took a step back, colliding with Megatron; however, her frightened gaze never left Optimus.

"Angelique?" Megatron breathed.

"Are you…really Optimus?" she asked, confusing everyone.

"Angelique, he's been here the whole time," Aurora said slowly, "It's really Optimus."

"Are you sure?" she asked, "Because if that's the case, then that _thing_ can change his form to look and sound like whoever he wants."

"If that's true then catching him will be nearly impossible since he'd be able to disguise himself as anyone at anytime," Aurora said.

She scowled. "What do you mean 'if that's true?'" she hissed, "I don't think _Optimus_ would rape me otherwise, at least, not the _real_ one."

Optimus closed his optics, disgusted. "You mean to say," he said, "Whoever raped you did so in my form?"

"Yes," Angelique responded.

A venomous snarl passed Megatron's lips, his whole frame shaking with rage. Aurora noticed and in an effort to distract the Decepticon leader from his anger, she asked, "Did it do anything else that might have hinted to its identity?"

"It warned that this will keep happening to you, Joey, and me until his master gets what he wants, but that's it."

"I dare him to show his face again," Megatron seethed.

"It has a master?" Aurora asked, "And it can change its form to that of any transformer?"

"I don't know of any transformer with that ability," Optimus said, racking his memory files.

"There's Makeshift," Megatron said, "But he doesn't have a master."

"Maybe Daniel McHugh is the master," Starscream suggested, "Maybe we should talk to him. He's constantly trying to get vengeance on us."

"Would he command a transformer to rape innocent girls?" Red Alert asked, "Even for a man of his caliber, that's low."

"I doubt he would be honest about anything if we were to talk to him," Aurora said.

"Jetfire to Optimus."

"I'm here, Jetfire. What is it?"

"Human law enforcement officers are here to speak with Megatron. Aurora and Angelique's father let them in. They also have a search warrant."

"Alright," Optimus said, "Send someone to get the security footage that shows the thing here in the med bay. I'll be there with Megatron in a few minutes."

"Yes sir, Jetfire out."

Megatron narrowed his optics as he met Optimus' gaze. "Do you really think I'm going to allow you to help me again?" he asked.

"At this point, you need all the help you can get clearing your name."

Megatron growled before taking Angelique by the hand and heading for the door, however, she stopped him. "I don't want to go," she said, "Not if my dad's going to be there."

"Starscream, keep an optic on her," the Decepticon leader said, looking to his second.

"Yes sir," Starscream replied.

Optimus looked to Aurora before asking, "Would you like to stay here as well?"

"I'll go with you," Aurora said, "If my dad is there, Megatron's going to need all the deities in his favor."

Megatron rolled his optics, "Let's just go."

And Aurora and Optimus left the med bay with him. Angelique stared after them for a moment before she went over to Joey's bedside and took a seat next to Starscream. "What happened to her?" she asked.

"She was raped as well," Starscream answered, regret evident in his voice, "She managed to sound an alarm before the rapist could finish, but he made her pay for it. She's suffered blunt force trauma to her head."

"She'll be okay," Angelique said, trying to reassure him, "Joey's a fighter. She'll want to beat the aft of whoever did this to her the moment she wakes up."

Starscream gave a small smile, but the smile quickly vanished. "Part of me hopes that she doesn't remember what happened to her. I can't imagine how you must feel," he said, looking to her.

_"Did he hurt you?"_

_"Jeepers, Optimus. You scared the daylights out of me."_

_"Sorry. Mind if I have a seat?"_

_He rested his hand on her thigh. Slowly he slid his hand upwards._

Angelique looked away. "I don't want to talk about it," she replied. She hugged her knees to her chest.

"I understand."

She closed her eyes; wishing reality would be a little less real for a while.

* * *

"I am sorry, but Megatron must come with us down to the station where he can be properly questioned," one of the officers stated, "We can review all evidence there."

"He has the right to refuse to be questioned," Aurora stated, "You know, pleading the fifth?"

The officer scowled at her, "I can only read him his rights if I arrest him. I heard from your father that you were attacked as well. Would you like me to arrest him, Aurora?"

"No," she replied sheepishly and then muttered under her breath, "Pompous ass."

"If he isn't under arrest," Optimus spoke quickly, "Then will you take the security footage we have given you and review it before you name Megatron as a suspect? Megatron has several alibis to prove that he hasn't committed any crime."

"I hate to bring this up," Aurora said, "But if you have questions about who is committing these rapes, it would be best to ask Angelique, but when she is feeling better."

"Is she sick?" another officer asked.

"No," Aurora remarked and then slowly admitted, "She was raped as well. Our medics here assessed her, she's alright, but she needs some time to herself. However, she did indicate a few things."

"Such as?"

"The rapist is a transformer; however, he has the ability to scan any form to disguise himself as whomever he pleases. He looks like them, acts like them, talks like them, everything. Angelique also said the rapist has a master. Considering the problems Daniel McHugh has given us in the past, I would question him as well as to what's going on. He might be seeking vengeance against us by framing the transformers for crimes they didn't commit. It's not fair to name Megatron as your only suspect because a victim said it was him. Angelique said it was Optimus that raped her."

"Then perhaps we should be arresting both of them," the first officer said, pointing to both Optimus and Megatron.

Megatron rolled his optics, "Do you really think the two of us would fit in the back of one of your squad cars or that one of your jail cells would hold us? All of you are wasting _my_ time. And if you don't mind, I would like to get back and check on Angelique. We have plenty of evidence if you would like to look at it, plenty of evidence that we would be more than _happy_ to give you. However, I do believe this entire situation is out of your control. Since it is a transformer we're dealing with, you best let _us_ handle it. Should any humans be involved, you may deal with them."

The officers exchanged glances, knowing he was right. There wasn't much they could do to stop a transformer from raping others; they simply didn't have the manpower. It was much cheaper to use the transformers as resources to stop this rapist rather than calling in the military.

"Hand over whatever evidence you can provide us with, we will need to take statements from everyone who has seen this _figure_ that you have mentioned and especially those who have been attacked by him," an officer stated.

Aurora nodded, "We can do that."

"Alright," said the officer, "We'll start with you. Tell us what you know."

"Uh…" Aurora hesitated, "Can we talk some place a little more private? Some of the details I have to share are rather sensitive."

"How about the waiting room outside the med bay?" Megatron suggested.

Optimus nodded and they led the police officers to the med bay. Once there, Megatron went inside the med bay and said he would be back out once he was needed. The officers proceeded to question Aurora and Optimus about what they had seen and what had happened. Though it was difficult, Aurora explained the details of her attack.

After she finished, Starscream was summoned next to give his testimony. Red Alert and Syndrome followed, sharing with the police officers the evidence that they had collected. Megatron gave his statement next and, once he had finished, the officers wished to speak to Angelique.

However, Megatron was hesitant. "She is asleep right now, can she come by the station at another time to give her statement?" he asked.

The officers looked to each other before one of them said, "Have her come by within the next 48 hours."

Megatron nodded.

"If Joey should happen to wake up within that time frame," an officer said, "Have her come with Angelique."

"We will," Aurora said, "Hopefully she remembers something."

Ann officer nodded, "Thank you for your time. You'll be hearing from us."

And with that, the officers left.

* * *

Angelique cracked her eyelids open when she felt herself being set down onto something comfortable. "What's…what's going on?" she asked as she opened her eyes to take in her surroundings.

"Easy," Megatron breathed as he lay down on the berth beside her and took her in his arms, "I just brought you back here to sleep."

She closed her eyes, too tired to try and keep them open. "The police didn't arrest you?" she breathed.

"No, if anything, I may have convinced them to cross my name off as a suspect," he replied, kissing her forehead, "Go back to sleep. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay," she sighed, cuddling into him.

Megatron wrapped his arms around her and held her against him securely. "I'll stay awake and make sure you are kept safe," he said.

"You can sleep," she said, "You need your rest."

"I am afraid of you getting hurt again."

She looked up at him, surprised. "You're afraid?" she repeated, unsure if she had heard him correctly.

"Yes," he breathed, "You mean everything to me…to see you hurt in such a way, you have no idea how much I just want to tear apart the abomination that did this to you."

Tears filled her eyes. "Megatron," she whimpered.

"It's okay."

"You're not okay."

"I am angry, not at you, my feelings for you haven't changed and they never will," he said, "Your wellbeing is much more important than mine."

"Don't say that, I can't live without you."

"Yes you can, but I don't want you to."

"I love you, Megatron," she breathed, tears spilling down her cheeks, "Don't blame yourself for anything that happened, none of it was your fault."

He kissed her, wiping her tears away as he did so. "I should have told you every day that I love you, Angelique," he whispered, "That regardless of who I am and the reputation I strive to keep, I love you so much more than _anything_."

"Say it again," she breathed.

"I love you, Angelique," he said, kissing her again, "I _love_ you."

She leaned into his kiss, allowing him to deepen it and pull her closer. He let the kiss drag on before he pulled away and whispered, "Go to sleep."

Angelique closed her eyes as happiness filled her spark. It wasn't long before she fell back to sleep.

* * *

"Do you know…do you know what happened?"

"Joey," Starscream breathed, watching her as she woke up.

"Starscream…"

"Easy, Joey, Red Alert said you have a concussion—

"Don't care," she replied, blinking as she tried to get her eyes to focus on him, "I'm going to kill the fucker that did this to me."

"You and me both," he whispered.

"Lay down next to me."

He did as she said as he got on the berth beside her and took her in his arms. "Do you know?" she asked against as she snuggled against him, closing her eyes, "Do you know what he did?"

"I know."

"You're not…you're not mad?"

"Not at you."

"I-I'm sorry I didn't let you go with me, I—

"You have _nothing_ to apologize for," he said, kissing away the tears that escaped from her eyes.

"Starscream…" she breathed as her voice broke.

"It's okay," he said as he hugged her to him. He kissed the top of her head as she cried. "You mean everything to me, Jo. And I mean _everything_."

* * *

"How are you doing this morning?"

Angelique stood in the doorway squinting at the forms of her sister and Optimus Prime. She was only wearing a camisole and panties, her hair was completely disheveled. She rubbed at her eyes before she groggily replied, "I don't know, I just woke up."

"I could tell," Aurora remarked, "Um, are you cold?"

"A little bit…why?"

Her sister pointed at her chest. Angelique glanced down and quickly crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh," she said, "Sorry. I don't have a bra on at the moment."

"Would you be interested in getting your mind off things? We could watch movies or something."

"Yeah, sure," she replied, clearing her throat in an attempt to make herself sound less tired, "Megatron's already up, you can come in if you want."

Aurora and Optimus came inside and went into the living area. Megatron observed them for a moment before he looked to Angelique and said, "You let them in here even though you're only wearing that?"

"Well, Aurora's my sister; she's seen me at my worst. And Optimus can look all he wants, it's not like he's getting anything."

Megatron shook his head before he went over to the door and locked it. Angelique proceeded to take a shower and change her clothes before she went out into the living area where Aurora and Optimus were waiting. "What do you want to watch?" she asked.

"Why not some Armada reruns?"

"Okay, but we're not watching the ones where Optimus dies, Starscream dies, or Galvatron dies. Especially the one where Starscream dies," Angelique said as she sat down in a chair.

"Fair enough," Aurora said as she placed a DVD into the DVD player, "Let's just see what comes on."

It was episode 43, Puppet, that came on partway through.

"Holy shit!" Angelique exclaimed as the dark shadowy figure with glowing red optics appeared on the screen, "That's the thing!"

"Who is _that_?" Megatron asked.

"Nemesis Prime," she replied.

"It makes sense…" Aurora mused, "Nemesis Prime has the ability to scan minds to be who he wants. In this episode he scanned Optimus Prime's form since he was the most powerful and respected in everyone else's minds. When he duplicates a person, he has all of their strength and power, along with his own ability to reconstruct himself."

"What about a master?" Optimus asked.

"Well, he is a Unicron-created being that is very savage and feral in nature. He's beastly and insane. His exact motives and personality are unknown because he was a puppet of Sideways."

"Savage, feral, beastly, and insane?" Megatron repeated with a scowl, "It certainly sounds like the transformer we're looking for."

"Hold on, if it is Nemesis Prime," Angelique said, "I doubt Sideways is his master. For all we know he might be like the kanima from Teen Wolf."

Everyone gave her puzzled looks before Aurora asked, "What's a kanima?"

Angelique sighed, "A being that requires a master. The kanima in particular is a weapon of vengeance; it's used to carry out the bidding of its master. The will of the master became that of the kanima's and whoever the master deems unworthy, the kanima served his master's vengeance. What if the master is Daniel McHugh and he's trying to use Nemesis Prime to get vengeance on us? He may not have told Nemesis to rape anyone, but if he's beastly and feral, he might be satisfying his own instincts."

Megatron and Optimus exchanged glances before Optimus said, "We'll need more evidence before we can conclude anything, but this is definitely worth investigating further."

"So much for getting my mind off things," Angelique remarked.

Megatron took her hand in his, "Things will get better, I promise."

* * *

He knew he had to take such a delicious opportunity when it presented itself.

He had been unsure of what his next move would or should be. His whole goal was to make the transformers as well as Angelique, Aurora, and Joey pay for what they had done to him. He also wanted to be reimbursed for all the money he had lost because of them and the best way to find that reimbursement was by exposing their existence.

However, by bringing forward evidence that the transformers were indeed real, he felt like he had nailed his own coffin shut. There were rumors of charges being brought against him once again for kidnapping, harassing, and nearly killing Aurora, Angelique, and Joey since he was not providing any evidence to the media in an effort to explain himself. He knew he had done wrong and if he held a press conference, he would risk getting cornered by the wrong questions.

He knew there had to be another way, some kind of loophole. He knew if he was ever exposed for the crimes he had committed that everything was over for him. He could not afford one mistake…one misstep.

So on the fateful day when there had been a knock on his door, he seized the opportunity.

"Master…"

Daniel McHugh turned around, grinning at the being before him. "Nemesis Prime, my pet," he said, "Have you succeeded in your mission?"

"Yes, master."

"Excellent. Begin the next phase of the plan."

Nemesis Prime bowed slightly before disappearing from the room. Daniel McHugh turned back to the window, grinning wickedly.

He would have his vengeance.

* * *

If there's any errors, I apologize. But at least now you guys know. I hope it wasn't a climatic let down. Reviews are always welcome. Until the next chapter!


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